by InTrieste
The Museo Sartorio in Trieste has renewed its exhibition of drawings by the 18th-century Venetian master Giambattista Tiepolo, reopening in August on the museum’s second floor. The periodic rotation of works in the Tiepolo Rooms is undertaken both to preserve the delicate paper-based artworks and to offer visitors fresh selections from the museum’s extensive collection.
The current display, curated by conservator Anna Krekic, features 43 drawings chosen from the museum’s 254-piece Tiepolo collection. Twenty-seven are displayed in glass cases, while 16 are presented in exhibition drawers.
The selection illustrates the breadth of Tiepolo’s graphic work, from decorative studies and landscapes to preparatory sketches for paintings and ceiling compositions. Visitors can also view imaginative heads, caricatures, and figures inspired by exotic and mystical themes, reflecting the artist’s “Capricci” and “Scherzi di Fantasia” print series. The Tiepolo Rooms are open to the public free of charge from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A Collection of Global Significance
The Tiepolo drawings at the Museo Sartorio are widely recognized as among the most important of the artist’s graphic oeuvre, offering insight into 18th-century Venetian painting more broadly. The collection encompasses 254 sheets — 25 of which are double-sided — totaling 279 individual drawings. Almost all are attributed to Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), though a few may be by his sons, Giandomenico or Lorenzo. Executed in graphite, pen, watercolor, or black and red chalk on white paper, the drawings span four decades of Tiepolo’s career, from the 1720s until his departure for Spain in 1762.
The collection was donated to the city of Trieste in 1910 by the heirs of Baron Giuseppe Sartorio, a passionate collector, through his sister Paolina and niece Anna. A comprehensive catalogue of the collection was published in 2021, edited by Lorenza Resciniti with scientific collaboration and editorial coordination by Anna Krekic.
The Exhibition Path
The exhibition opens with decorative studies, including vases and classical objects, reflecting motifs that recur in Tiepolo’s frescoes and canvas paintings. Large-format landscapes follow, depicting wooded scenes and architectural elements that informed the backgrounds of his works.
Preparatory sketches for the Villa Loschi Zileri in Monteviale, near Vicenza, are also featured. Among them is the celebrated Allegory of Generosity, a study for a ceiling fresco portraying a young woman distributing gifts. Other works include sketches for religious compositions, such as Saints Clement and Agatha Interceding for the Souls in Purgatory, and mythological subjects like The Death of Hyacinthus, a study for a painting now in Madrid’s Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.
In a second room, visitors encounter studies for ceiling figures, depictions of warriors, imaginative heads, caricatures, and figures inspired by oriental and magical themes. Many of these works served as reference material for Tiepolo’s studio and were later translated into prints by his sons. The collection also includes examples linked to the fantastical “Capricci” series, featuring enigmatic, crowded scenes with magicians, philosophers, and exotic elements.
The exhibition is complemented by sixteen drawers offering closer views of lesser-seen works from the collection.
Practical Information
Museo Sartorio
Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 1 – Trieste
Wednesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Free admission
+39 040 675 9321
museosartorio@comune.trieste.it
