Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Drawing of Body

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo'sA Large Grouping of Punchinelliis expected to fetch more than $200,000 at auction. Courtesy of Dreweatts

Information technology might seem strange for someone to misplace a work of art worth well over 100,000 British pounds. But after a fellow member of the wealthy Sitwell family purchased a whimsical 18th-century Italian drawing in 1936, the work of fine art was tucked away and forgotten in i of the many rooms at Weston Hall, the family's grand estate in Northamptonshire.

"No i seemed to know where [the cartoon] was, or even give it a second thought," notes Henrietta Sitwell, a descendant of the well-known English literary family, in a statement from Dreweatts, which is set to sell the contents of Weston Hall adjacent month.

The Sitwell heirs decided to auction off the family unit'southward inventory of fine appurtenances earlier this twelvemonth. Combing through the hall's nine attics, reports Neil Johnston for the London Times, Henrietta stumbled onto a surprise: a minor work of art wrapped in bubble wrap and leaning against the wall.

Weston Hall housed members of the Sitwell family for 300 years. Terminal year, descendant William Sitwell put the manor up for sale for more than than £4 1000000. Courtesy of Dreweatts

"As I peeled back the wrapping, I instantly recognized it as something special," says Henrietta, who studied fine art history in higher.

Experts eventually identified the cartoon as the draftsmanship of Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), whose large-scale frescoes "epitomized" the extravagant Italian Rococo style, per Encyclopedia Britannica. Titled A Large Grouping of Punchinelli , the small ink cartoon depicts a boisterous group of large-nosed, hunchbacked clowns jubilant and eating gnocchi.

Afterward collecting dust for decades, the drawing will serve equally a star lot in Dreweatts' Nov sixteen and 17 auction. Other featured items in the auction include an elaborate four-poster bed with needlework hangings, a selection of poet Edith Sitwell'southward eccentric wardrobe and jewelry drove, and a 19th-century sword and scabbard perchance gifted by George 4.

Members of the Sitwell family passed Weston Hall down for nearly three centuries. But final year, Edith's slap-up-nephew William Sitwell placed the property on the market for more than £4 million. As the food author and occasional "MasterChef" critic wrote in a column for the Telegraph , maintaining the estate had simply become besides expensive. He went on to describe the house, which boasts "l-odd rooms," every bit neither "likewise big" nor "too pocket-sized."

Writer Osbert Sitwell purchased the Tiepolo drawing at a 1936 Christie's sale. Now, it'due south conservatively estimated to fetch more $200,000 at sale, reports BBC News.

Another work on sale from the Sitwell estate: a 4-poster bed with decorative George Three–era needlework hangings Courtesy of Dreweatts

The newly rediscovered artwork may sell for even more: Brandon Lindberg, head of British and European pictures at Dreweatts, tells Artnet News'Sarah Cascone that "the most comparable example to come up up for sale sold in New York in 2013 for $542,500."

During the 18th century, Tiepolo enjoyed a successful career as a Venice-based painter and printmaker. He was particularly in demand as an interior decorator, creating large frescoes on the walls of the Würzburg Residence in Frg and later decorating the Majestic Palace of Madrid'southward throne room.

Compared with his elaborate ceiling frescoes on such heady themes every bit The Celebrity of Spain and The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy, Tiepolo probable created this small drawing of partying clowns for his own enjoyment. As Lindberg explains in a Dreweatts video, "Hither we see [the creative person] actually having fun."

A 1750–53 self-portrait of Tiepolo, from a ceiling fresco in the Würzburg Residence in Deutschland Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Tieopolo'due south short, chapeau-wearing figures were based on the comedic trope of Punchinello, a stock character with roots in commedia dell'arte , an early on course of professional person theater popular across Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. The artist too drew inspiration from Venerdì Gnocolar("Gnocchi Friday" in English), a centuries-erstwhile celebration in Verona that institute crowds feasting on polenta, wine and gnocchi in an all-night celebration. Every bit Vicky Hallett reported for NPR in 2019, the tradition continues in modern grade to this solar day.

"Tiepolo is known for decorative schemes in churches and palazzos, just he was fascinated by Punchinello and drew the subject area throughout his career," Lindberg tells Artnet News. "This is one of the largest and virtually elaborate drawings he produced."

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Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/drawing-italy-england-discovery-rare-180978863/

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