Standing Woman, Turned to the Left

Standing Woman, Turned to the Left is a characteristic drawing by the Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, produced sometime between 1739 and 1760. This preparatory study exemplifies the technical brilliance and fluid execution that defined Tiepolo’s graphic output. The work is executed in pen and brown ink, enriched by the application of brown wash, a signature medium combination that allowed the artist to swiftly define volume and control the distribution of light and shadow.

The drawing focuses on a single female subject, presented in profile and facing the left side of the composition. Tiepolo uses economical but deliberate ink lines to delineate the contours of the figure and her drapery. The brown wash, applied broadly across the figure, creates strong chiaroscuro effects, lending the seemingly rapid study a remarkable sense of weight and dimensionality. This technique was vital for Tiepolo, allowing him to visualize the fall of light on figures intended for the grand scale of his frescoes and ceiling paintings commissioned throughout Italy and Europe.

As one of the preeminent Italian artists of the 18th century, Tiepolo’s studies of women and figures reflect his commitment to capturing naturalistic posture and movement. This detailed example provides important insight into his compositional methodology during the height of the Rococo period. This drawing is currently maintained in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key document of European draftsmanship. Because of its age and historical importance, images of the work are frequently available through the public domain, allowing for the widespread creation of high-quality prints for scholarly reference.