Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO (Venice, 1696 - Madrid, 1770).
"Lady with a basket of flowers".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Work reproduced in MORASSI. A., "A complete catalogue of the painting of G.B, Tiepolo. Including pictures by his pupils and followers wrongly attributed to him". Phaidon press. London. 1962. F. 427.
Attached radiographic report with condition report by ARTE-LAB and study by Don Miguel Hermoso Cuesta, PhD in Art History.
Presents restorations.
It has a French frame of the 18th century.
Provenance: Spanish private collection, Bonhams London, New Bond Street. July 8, 2015 (Catalogue cover, lot 112, est. 200,000-300,000), private collection Zurich, c. 1964.
Measurements: 80.5 x 69 cm; 105 x 94 cm (frame).
The canvas depicts a half-length young woman, slightly leaning to the left, looking directly at the viewer. She holds a basket of fruit and flowers with her right arm, while her left arm points to a point outside the frame. This typology of the isolated half-length figure was a constant in Giambattista Tiepolo's production, from his youth to his final period in Madrid, and covered a wide variety of models: from oriental types to saints, to idealized youths.
These figures, known in his time as teste di carattere, enjoyed great popularity in the Venetian context of the 18th century, being cultivated by artists such as Rosalba Carriera, Giulia Lama, Antonio Rotari or Piazzetta, with whom Tiepolo seems to be in dialogue in this composition. In fact, the use of chiaroscuro, the idealized face and the fanciful dress - of a bluish green possibly darkened by time - refer both to Piazzetta's influence and to the tradition of half-length female portraits by masters such as Titian, Tintoretto or Veronese. At the same time, the work incorporates elements of the neo-Caravaggism introduced in Venice by Piazzetta in the early 18th century, a trend that Tiepolo himself explored in his early days.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the scene, the composition is carefully constructed: the inclination of the figure is balanced by the gesture of the left arm and by the effects of light, especially in the cuff of the right arm. The painting does not respond to a specific narrative, but rather exalts feminine beauty and youth, in parallel to the lushness of the fruits and flowers in the basket.
. The execution is polished, especially in the treatment of the flesh tones, the modeling of the face and hands, and the delicate sfumato of the hair. The oval face, full lips and large eyes show the influence of Piazzetta and Giulia Lama, while the precise drawing of the fingers, especially on the hand holding the basket, betrays Tiepolo's distinctive style, characterized by subtle contour lines and meticulous detail.
The contrast between the dark tones of the dress and the brightness of the shirt is accentuated by the inclusion of small chromatic details, such as the red beaded necklace and bows of the same color. The brushstroke becomes looser and more expressive in the treatment of the natural elements, such as the rose, the jasmine or the fruits, which reveal the artist's skill as a still life artist. The chromatic range of the basket reflects and reinforces that of the figure, creating a visual dialogue that seems to invite the viewer to approach.
Also noteworthy are the final touches executed with agile and nervous brushstrokes, visible in the hands, the hair and small accents of color, such as the carmine between the fingers. These resources, common in his preparatory drawings, show Tiepolo's technical mastery and his ability to suggest form and volume with great economy of means. The lighting, coming from the right, models the volumes of the figure and contributes to resolve the foreshortening of the arm, also casting subtle shadows that enrich the spatial atmosphere of the neutral background.
In the words of Miguel Cuesta, PhD in art history, "A letter from Professor Giuliano Briganti, dated 1971, supports the dating proposed by Antonio Morassi in his 1962 catalog raisonné, placing the work around 1720-1725, during the artist's Milanese period. This chronology is plausible and could even be slightly extended, given that the work shares formal solutions with mythological compositions from the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice and with later pieces such as Bacchus and Ariadne from the Timken collection in New York".
Finally, it is worth noting the excellent state of conservation of the canvas. Despite a slight natural darkening due to the passage of time, the work does not seem to have undergone significant restorations, which has allowed to keep intact the technical and stylistic details characteristic of Tiepolo's brushwork, whose execution, as usual in him, is halfway between drawing and painting.
The Venetian Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was one of the greatest painters of 18th century Europe, and the magnificent first master of the Gran Manera, an idealized aesthetic derived from classicism. His art exalts the imagination by translating the world of ancient history, myth, scripture and sacred legends into a grandiose and theatrical language, typical of the late Baroque. Tiepolo developed an aesthetic that, starting from the convention of his formative period, evolved brilliantly, becoming increasingly splendid, celebrating the notion of Italian "capriccio" and "fantasia". He was one of the most important Italian fresco painters of his time, as well as an easel painter and engraver, considered the last great painter of the Baroque era and one of the most outstanding figures of the Italian Rococo.