Seated Woman with a Winged Putto 1696 - 1770

Editor: This is Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s "Seated Woman with a Winged Putto," created sometime between 1696 and 1770, using ink in a drawing. I'm really struck by the movement he captures with such delicate lines. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Immediately, the composition leaps out. Notice how the figures are arranged in a dynamic spiral, moving upwards and outwards. This arrangement not only guides the viewer's gaze, but creates a sense of elevated drama so prevalent in Baroque art. Editor: A spiral, that's a great observation. Is there any symbolic reason you think Tiepolo chose that specific compositional form? Curator: Consider the relationship between line and space. The lines themselves are confident and fluid, almost like shorthand. However, the blank areas of paper are equally important. They give air to the figures, making the figures seem ethereal, weightless. Note too the tonal values-- achieved by varying the density of hatching with pen and ink -- that articulate the bodies three-dimensionally. What feelings arise when you examine that treatment? Editor: I guess I had mostly thought of them as, like, incomplete, but now that you point it out, it adds to that floating, dreamlike feeling. Does the winged putto suggest a specific classical narrative, or is its presence mainly for artistic affect? Curator: The winged putto introduces an allegorical element; its symbolic import can only be understood in light of the full decorative cycle for which it was preparatory. I can not identify which one this may be on purely visual grounds. However, note the formal effectiveness of this inclusion: how does its small stature highlight the grand figure beneath it? Editor: It certainly reinforces her presence! I really appreciate how you spotlighted the visual mechanics and its effects—it is incredible how form defines so much meaning here. Curator: Indeed! Close formal analysis always opens new avenues of appreciation and critical inquiry.