 |
|
| PC1970.147
Giovanni
Domenico Tiepolo
"The
Flight Into Egypt"
|
 |
| Eldest
son of a master painter and printmaker, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo grew
up in Venice where he would claim his place among the great Italian etchers
of his time. Giandomenico, as he was often called, first apprenticed with
his father, the better known Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Hethen worked as
his father's associate and often reproduced his work. His first etching
series was The Way of the Cross, published in 1749, after the paintings
in San Polo in Venice done by his father. His next series, The Flight
Into Egypt, consisted of twenty-seven prints dedicated to Karl Phillip
von Greiffenklau, Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg. In 1770 he published another
series, Raccolta di teste, which consisted of sixty different heads
based mainly on his father's work. He always reversed the compositions
of his father's paintings that he reproduced in etchings, but these reproductions
served to make his father better known to the public and surrounding art
communities.
Giandomenico's style was simple and direct. He was known for his ability to accurately depict a wide range of emotions, especially in his extended narrative series. He would often create a sharp contrast between the foreground to background in his work, and often opposed figures on one side to open, distant land on the other side. His religious works were often described as "fresh and warm, transcending the traditionalism of the theme" (Hults, 333). The Flight Into Egypt is based on the Biblical story of the Holy Family in their flight from Herod after his decision to execute all the infant Jewish males. Each scene follows in a clear, step-by-step sequence from the moment Joseph decides to flee. Throughout the series, the weary travelers are continually followed by angels hovering above, or surrounded by strange men along the way. Joseph is depicted in many different ways, among them are the frail and feeble Joseph who becomes old, dignified and powerful and then young, active, and muscular. Often animals are carried through the works in the identical positions as when first seen, only now they are hidden or placed in different areas of the scene. There is a very sketchy quality to these prints, but there is also precision and clarity, with luminous lighting effects. Giandomenico's major influence was his father. Often Giandomenico's work was incorrectly attributed to his father because their styles were quite similar. It was even said that Giandomenico was never given the recognition he deserved because he was continually in his father's shadow. Overall, he is quite a master etcher who seems to have slipped from the forefront due to the situations that surrounded him throughout his lifetime. Tammy Slowik (1997) William
L. Barcham, "Tiepolo," The Dictionary of Art (New York, 1996), 30:
863-4.
|