Standing Figure of a Youth

Standing Figure of a Youth is a sophisticated drawing executed by the Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo between 1752 and 1765. This preparatory study, classified as a drawing, utilizes pen and rich brown ink combined with expressive brown wash. Tiepolo masterfully employs the wash technique to establish dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, defining the form and bulk of the subject. The figure of a young man, perhaps an actor or a model dressed in period costume, stands in a dynamically foreshortened stance, suggesting a pose captured rapidly from life. This energetic approach is typical of Tiepolo’s extensive graphic output during this mature period.

The subject focuses on the idealized depiction of men, specifically the poised and robust youth whose features are rendered with economical yet forceful lines. While the precise purpose of the sketch is not documented, Tiepolo frequently created such stand-alone studies to develop figures for his vast commissions, including frescoes and altarpieces across Europe. The immediacy of the ink work and the skillful layering of the wash reveal the artist's foundational grasp of anatomy and drapery.

This piece, dating to the height of the Rococo era, exemplifies the high caliber of 18th-century Venetian draftsmanship. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves this significant work, ensuring its study for scholars. The continued interest in graphic works such as Standing Figure of a Youth means that high-quality prints derived from the original artwork are often available, sometimes through public domain initiatives. This important drawing currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.