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The Crowning of Merit

The Crowning of Merit

(Italian (Venetian), 1696–1770)
1755–60
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions37.1 x 42.9cm (14 5/8 x 16 7/8in.)
Other (Oval design; Oval Design): 34 x 43cm (13 3/8 x 16 15/16in.)
Framed: 51.4 x 60.3 x 5.1 cm (20 1/4 x 23 3/4 x 2 in.)
Credit LineDenman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession number06.118
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Description
Tiepolo was internationally acclaimed for his illusionistic, grand-scale paintings. This bozzetto, or sketch for a larger work, was made as a preparatory study for one of his many elaborate ceiling paintings. Diagonal composition, expressive movement, and radiant light are used to create space that opens expansively above the viewer. Although such sketches were made primarily to assist the artist in compositional arrangement, Tiepolo's rich palette, lively brushstroke, and silvery light make them lively and convincing works in their own right.
Provenance1889, David P. Sellar (b. 1833 - d. 1901), London; June 6, 1889, Sellar sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, lot 80 [see note 1]. 1904, sold by Charles Fairfax Murray (b. 1849 - d. 1919), London and Florence to Denman Waldo Ross (b. 1853 - d. 1935), Cambridge, MA; 1906, gift of Denman Waldo Ross to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 8, 1906)

NOTES:
[1] As "Composition allegorique" and described as the crowning of a poet.