Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770)
Study for Four Female Figures, 1730–31
Pen, brown ink, and black chalk, on white paper
11 3/8 × 13 3/8 in. (288 × 340 mm)
Civico Museo Sartorio, Trieste
For his fresco cycles, Tiepolo executed a number of preparatory drawings that study compositional solutions for his figurative groups. This is the only extant pen sketch for the Archinto cycle. Here Tiepolo studied the central group of figures for the Triumph of the Arts and Sciences, focusing on the allegorical figures of Literature (or History), Painting, and Sculpture.