"The Moscow life of Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico"

Pushkin Museum im. Alexander Pushkin presents the exhibition "The Moscow Life of Giambattista Tiepolo and His Son Giandomenico", which will allow the viewer to see together all the works of the leading Venetian painter of the 18th century Giambattista Tiepolo (1696 Venice - 1770 Madrid) and his son Giandomenico (1727 Venice - 1804 Venice) in the collections of Moscow. The exhibition includes two famous compositions by the artist from the Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye", which in the past were the pride of the gallery of the Yusupov princes located there, and works from the collection of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin, most of which also comes from the Yusupov collection. The exhibition precedes an extensive program of the cross-year of Russia and Italy, announced by the ministries of culture of both countries for 2021–2022 and dedicated to cooperation between Russian and Italian museums.

The paintings "The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra" and "The Feast of Cleopatra", which will complement the exposition of the Pushkin Museum within the framework of the exhibition, have been in Russia for over two hundred years: they were acquired by Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov on May 11, 1800 in St. Petersburg from the Venetian Pietro Concolo and brought to Arkhangelskoe. In 1834, the heirs of the prince decided to place them in their family palace in St. Petersburg, but almost a hundred years later the canvases returned to Arkhangelskoye. These works are recognized as the major works of Giambattista Tiepolo during his period of creative maturity. They were written around 1745-1747, and this is an important moment in the evolution of the master’s art, the beginning of a powerful creative takeoff, followed by the creation of world-famous monumental works - the murals of the Palazzo Labia in Venice, the Villa Valmarana in Vicenza,the archbishop’s residence in Würzburg, the royal residence in Madrid, which finally consolidated the fame of the most outstanding painter of the 18th century for Tiepolo.

The canvases depict two episodes from the history of Anthony, the Roman commander, and Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt from the Ptolemaic dynasty - a meeting in Alexandria in 34 BC, shortly after Anthony’s campaign in Armenia, from where he brought the captured Armenian king Artavazd II and rich booty, and the scene of Cleopatra’s sumptuous feast. In these canvases, striking in their size and bright color, a theatrical spectacle appears in front of the viewer, in which the artist’s rich imagination finds an outlet, but at the same time his knowledge of antiquity is noticeable in precisely conveyed details. Tiepolo acts here as the successor of the great traditions of Venetian painting of the Renaissance, and above all of the work of Paolo Veronese, who owns the famous feast scenes.

Tiepolo’s works were the pride of the Yusupov collection, and even during the life of Nikolai Borisovich, a hall was arranged in the palace, in which, in addition to two large canvases, there were other paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico. These included the plafond now stored in the Tsarskoye Selo Catherine Palace, in respect of which Tiepolo’s authorship was rejected, as well as four vertical compositions that died in the fire of 1820. Three more compositions that once adorned the Tiepolo Hall in Arkhangelskoye, after the revolution at different times entered the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin: in 1924 - "The Return of the Prodigal Son", in 1925 - "Maria with a Sleeping Child" (both by Giandomenico Tiepolo), and in 1928 - "The Death of Dido", recognized as one of the best works of Giambattista Tiepolo, located in Russia. These years,when there was a redistribution of museum collections in the country, the composition "The Feast of Cleopatra" was brought to the Pushkin Museum from St. Petersburg, however, in 1927 the work was given to Arkhangelskoye.

In addition to paintings from the Yusupov collection, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts since 1931 contains two more important works by Giambattista Tiepolo. "Madonna with Saints Louis of Toulouse, Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi", which in the past belonged to one of the private collections of Moscow, is an altar composition written in 1730-1735 for the Church of San Provolo in Venice, and "Two Saints" is a sketch, associated with the initial stage of the artist’s work (from 1742 to 1745) on the composition for the main altar of the Church of Santi Massimo e Osvaldo in Padua. According to the inscription on the back, Giambattista presented it to his eldest son Giandomenico. After the death of Giandomenico, the architect Gianantonio Selva bought the work from his widow and sent it to Giacomo Quarenghi, who was then in Russia, from whom the Dolgoruky princes acquired it.

The exhibition "The Moscow Life of Giambattista Tiepolo and His Son Giandomenico" brings together all the works of Tiepolo, father and son in the Moscow collection. The presence of paintings from the collection of the Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye" in the exposition not only transforms the usual exposition of the museum, but also illustrates the most important stage in the development of artistic ideas of Giambattista Tiepolo.

A video guide in Russian sign language has been prepared specially for the exhibition.

Exhibition curator: Victoria Markova, Chief Researcher of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts A.S. Pushkin, Doctor of Art History, Professor, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Commander of the Order of the Italian Republic "Star of Italy"

Venue: The main building of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin (Volkhonka, 12, hall number 17)