G iandomenico T iepolo
Venice 1727 - Venice 1804
12. A female faun dancing with a satyr
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
190 x 275 mm
Signed lowe right: Dom. Tiepolo f.
Provenance:
Venice, private collection.
Son of Giambattista Tiepolo, under whom he studied. Accompanied his father to Wurzburg (1750-53) and
assisted him there and in the decoration of the Villa Valmarana near Vicenza (1757) and later at Madrid (1762-
70). By the mid 1750’s he was considered a distinguished artist in his own right. In 1761 he is documented as
being a member of the Fraglia dei Pittori (Painters Guild) and in 1780 was elected President of the Venetian
Academy. After the death of his father in Madrid (1770) he returned to Venice where he developed his own
intuitive style which produced several brilliantly original series of drawings often numbering more than a hundred
on a single theme.
Satyrs and fauns belong to Greek mythology. Half human and half beast, they have pointed ears, small horns
growing out of the forehead and feet covered with hair. In this lovely drawing a female faun is dancing with a satyr
while another satyr armed with an arrow is looking at them. In the background, a village with a tower, reminds
us of some of the villages of the Venetian countryside.
( GG )