Follower of Giuseppe Galli Bibiena

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1695-1757

Design for a Stage Set or a Wall Decoration

ca. 1725-1750

Pen and brown ink and wash, over black chalk, squared in pen and brown ink, on paper.

7 5/16 x 10 5/16 inches (186 x 262 mm)

Promised gift of Jules Fisher.

L2019.137.22

Notes:

It is unclear whether this drawing was intended as a design for the stage or for a trompe l'oeil wall decoration, though the superimposed grid surely indicates that the scheme was meant to be transferred and enlarged. The sheet is fragmentary, having lost its lower half, but it still conveys the grandeur and complexity of the scena per angolo (scene viewed at an angle) architectural designs by the Bibiena workshop.

Inscription:

Verso: Lower right, purple ink collectors stamp. Pen and brown ink mathematical notations in center. Graphite, lower left: 47 Lower right: 19t//Galli Bibiena/ 12/59 Other marks.

Provenance:

Walter Schatzki, New York, 1975; Lodewijk Houthakker, Amsterdam; Mark Arthur Cohn, SAS, Paris, 25 March 2005; San Marco Casa d'Aste, Venice, 6 July 2008, lot 2173; purchased from Hill-Stone, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, 28 March 2017; Jules Fisher collection (Fisher Number: JF-140).

Associated names:

Schatzki, Walter, 1899-1983, former owner.
Houthakker, Lodewijk, former owner.
Cohn, Mark Arthur, former owner.
Fisher, Jules, owner.

Bibliography:

The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, "Architecture, Theater, and Fantasy: Bibena Drawings from the Jules Fisher Collection", 2021. Exh. cat., no. 18, repr.

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Artist page:

Galli Bibiena, Giuseppe

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