GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO (VENISE 1727-1804) - photo 1
GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO (VENISE 1727-1804) - photo 2

GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO (VENISE 1727-1804)

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€ 50 400
Auction dateClassic
18.05.2022 14:30UTC +02:00
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CHRISTIE'S
Event location
France, Paris
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ID 761494
Lot 184 | GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO (VENISE 1727-1804)
GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO (VENISE 1727-1804)Saint Jean Gualberthuile sur toile, sur sa toile et son châssis d'origine63,4 x 42,2 cm (25 x 16 1⁄2 in.) Provenance Collection particulière, région toulousaine, France. Post lot text GIOVANNI DOMENICO TIEPOLO, SAINT JOHN GUALBERTO, OIL ON CANVAS, UNLINED, ON ITS ORIGINAL STRETCHERThis new addition to the oeuvre of Giandomenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) is a rare discovery. It depicts Saint John Gualberto, founder of the Vallombrosian Order. Son of a rich Florentine family, John’s life changed dramatically the day he pardoned his brother’s assassin, inspired by the Passion of Christ. This act of mercy led to him taking the habit of the Benedictines and entering the monastery of San Miniato al Monte. Here he was shocked by the simony of the Bishop of Florence, whom he denounced before retiring from the community to lead an austere, hermetic existence. In 1015 he moved alone to the monastery of Vallombrosa, where he later became Prevost and subsequently Abbot, having welcomed to his community many of the monks from San Miniato. The confraternity at Vallombrosa was founded on the rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the teachings of the early fathers of the Church; these insisted on the idea of charity and a communal way of life, and thus the Vallombrosian came into existence. Tiepolo’s painting makes reference to two miraculous events in the life of the saint. Most obviously, the cross that he is holding alludes to his first vision. Whilst praying before the great crucifix of San Miniato having just pardoned his brother’s killer, the head of Christ bowed to him as a sign of absolution for his sins. In the present picture, the head of the crucifix is slightly turned towards the saint, echoing this miracle. More subtly, the stonework behind the saint is probably a reference to the story of the monastery that saint John judged too opulent and then crumbled at his word. A worthy successor to his father and teacher, Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), the remarkable condition of the present painting allows us to admire Giandomenico’s glowing colours and rich brushwork. Father and son worked together in the Tiepolo studio, along with Domenico’s brother, Lorenzo (1736-1776), a specialist in pastels. Because of the collaborative nature of their work, in both paintings and frescoes, the talent of the sons was, for a long time, overlooked. It was only in 1971, with the publication of Andriano Mariuz’s (1938-2003) catalogue raisonné, that Giandomenico’s oeuvre finally received the attention it deserved. This study allowed us to understand that patrons turned most often to Domenico when they desired a small scale work for private devotion. Many such paintings of half-length saints by his hand are known to us today, such as the Saint Louis Gonzaga in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Saint Joseph et l’enfant Jésus in the Museo Civico, Padua and Saint Dominique held in the Museo Civico in Udine.In these paintings, as in ours, Giandomenico’s fascination with daily life is clear; it is these little details, anecdotal and touching, that render his religious subjects so human. In Saint John, it is above all the saint’s smile, with the slight gap in the front teeth, his wrinkles, executed in swift black brush strokes, and his ruddy hands that give the figure his humanity. This is a person who has known poverty, hard work and suffering, but has been transformed firstly by god’s grace and then by the painter’s brush into a radiant image. Giandomenico’s sensibility for the poignant aspects of the human condition resonates throughout his oeuvre. Although it is present in the work of his father, it is only in the son’s paintings that it is given centre stage. There exists different versions of the present painting, with some minor differences. One is currently in the collection of the Rollins Art Museum, Florida (inv. 1961.04), and another ‘attributed to Giandomenico Tiepolo’ was recently brought to the market in Paris (sale Drouot Estimations, hôtel Drouot, Paris, 16 April 2022). It is probable that the version from the Rollins Museum once belonged to the collection of Martin von Wagner Museum in Würzburg, and which was published in Adriano Mariuz’s catalogue in 1971 (A. Mariuz, Giandomenico Tiepolo, Venice, 1971, p. 152). There, he dated the picture to the 1750’s, period when the Tiepolo family worked in Würzburg. A preparatory sketch for the hands and the crucifix has been identified by the historian Giorgio Vigni in the collection of the Correr museum in Venice (inv. Cl. III, n. 7084) (A. Mariuz, op. cit., p. 152). The features of the model for Saint John Gualberto must have pleased the artist, because he can be found again in a painting of the same format in the Ambrosiana in Milan, there in the guise of a bishop saint. We would like to thank Adelheid M. Gealt for her help in the writing of this catalogue entry.
Applied technique:Oil on canvas
Art style:Old Masters
Place of origin:Italy, Europe
Auction house category:Paintings
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