Seated Woman with a Winged Putto

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s captivating drawing, Seated Woman with a Winged Putto, is executed in pen and brown ink, combined with a brush application of pale (yellow) and dark brown wash, layered meticulously over preliminary black chalk studies. This complex mixed-media approach defines the work as a prime example of 18th-century Venetian draftsmanship.

The composition features a large, confidently rendered woman, likely representing an allegorical or mythological figure, attended by a small winged putto. Tiepolo employs the washes skillfully to sculpt form and define light and shadow, a technique he mastered across both his preparatory drawings and his monumental frescoes. The black chalk underdrawing lends stability to the large figure, while the fluid ink lines capture the dynamic movement and expression characteristic of the Rococo era. The dramatic interplay between the brown ink outlines and the luminous pale yellow wash showcases the artist's ability to create depth and volume with minimal resources. Tiepolo often produced such detailed sheets not purely as preparatory works, but as finished drawings intended for private collectors, highlighting his remarkable skill in depicting women in various classical and genre contexts.

Dating to the height of the artist’s productivity, this drawing provides crucial insight into the graphic output of the Venetian master. Unlike his large-scale decorative projects, which demanded elaborate planning, this ink and wash study offered immediacy and intimacy. The emphasis on line and shadow provided excellent material for later prints derived from his paintings and similar drawings. This notable example of Tiepolo's work, classified officially as a drawing, is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), where it remains accessible to scholars and the public.