Seated Figure of Time
1696–1770
Medium
Pen and dark brown ink, brush with pale and dark brown wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
9-7/16 x 16-3/16 in. (23.9 x 41.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.165.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Seated Figure of Time a captivating preparatory drawing by Giovanni Battista Tiep (1696–1770), one of Venice's greatest Rococo masters. Tiepolo, renowned for his sweeping frescoes adorning palaces and churches across Europe, excelled in dynamic compositions filled with theatrical light and elegant figures. Created during the vibrant 18th century, work personifies Time as a contemplative seated human form—a timeless allegory evoking the relentless passage of moments, a motif cherished in Baroque and Roc art to reflect on mortality and transience. Crafted with meticulous technique, ...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · 1696–1770
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, a Venetian master whose luminous frescoes and dynamic compositions defined the Rococo era's aesthetic zenith. Born in Venice on March 5, 1696, to a modest shipping merchant family, Tiepolo's extraordinary talent transcended his humble origins to establish him as the most sought-after artis...