Adoration of the Magi

The Adoration of the Magi by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, created sometime between 1710 and 1770, is a masterful example of 18th-century Venetian drawing. This highly dramatic composition utilizes pen and brown ink alongside brushwork, employing both pale and dark brown wash applied over preliminary black chalk. This layering technique allows Tiepolo to achieve intense contrast and depth, lending volume to the figures and architecture. The dynamic and gestural application of the washes suggests the rapid, inspired execution characteristic of the artist's preparatory sketches and finished studies alike.

The subject, the Adoration of the Magi, depicts the moment the three wise men present their gifts to the Christ Child. Tiepolo often revisited this popular narrative, using the inherent grandeur of the event to stage elaborate, theatrical scenes typical of the late Baroque and Rococo periods. The composition expertly directs the viewer’s eye through a crowd of attendant figures toward the central sacred grouping, emphasizing reverence and opulent display through costume and gesture.

Tiepolo’s control of light and shadow, achieved through the varying density of the washes, transforms this piece into a finished study of narrative drama and complex figure grouping. As a key example of the master’s technique, the work provides essential insight into the artistic process of the Venetian school during this era. This seminal drawing is preserved within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.