Holy Family

Primary Francesco Fontebasso (Venice, Italy, 1707–1769)

NationalityItalian, Europe

Date1740s

MediumPen and iron gall ink on cream antique laid paper

DimensionsSheet: 11 9/16 × 8 1/2 in. (29.3 × 21.6 cm)

Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017.1120

Keywords

Rights Statement

NO COPYRIGHT - PUBLIC DOMAIN

Collection AreaPrints and Drawings

Object number2017.1120

On View

Not on view

Label Text

Web Comments

Fontebasso was, with Gaspare Diziani, the most interesting of the secondary masters in 18th-century Venice. His style was based upon Sebastiano Ricci’s extroverted color and drama, but simplified in design, infused with a more textured realism gathered from early experiences in Rome and Bologna, and touched by the lighter palette of Tiepolo. Monumental in construction yet charming and vibrant, with its trademark hatching recalling Fontebasso’s significant activity as an etcher, this is one of his finest drawings.

Exhibitions

Qualitative Distinction: European Prints and Drawings from the Permanent Collec

Old Master Drawings from the Suida-Manning Collection