Domenico Tiepolo

"This book is something. Lovingly researched and written, with all the known drawings illustrated, identified, ordered and annotated, it is a historical, some might feel spiritual, event. Ms. Gealt and Mr. Knox, who intended it for both a general audience and scholars, say simply, 'We believe this is a book to linger over.' . . . they are absolutely right."

-- Holland Cotter, New York Times

In this major new work of art history, Adelheid M. Gealt and George Knox assemble, present, and document for the first time a cycle of 313 drawings of scenes from the New Testament by the 18th-century Venetian draftsman Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804). When Domenico died in 1804, the drawings were dispersed among various purchasers. Locating, identifying, and documenting them required years of detective work by Gealt and Knox.This book presents the fruit of their labors and is a treasure that any art lover will wish to own. The book will accompany an exhibition to open October 2006 at The Frick Museum in New York.

Introductory chapters by Knox and Gealt provide a history of the drawings and a discussion of the literary and pictorial traditions in which Domenico worked and the complexities of his narrative approach. The heart of the book is a catalog of full-color reproductions of the drawings, arranged to follow the New Testament narrative from the lives of Joachim and Anna (Christ's grandparents) through the acts of Peter and Paul. The accompanying text includes the biblical passages depicted in each drawing, synopses of the stories that Domenico tells, and commentaries. A reference section provides further information on the traditions of iconography and on the biblical and historical sources reflected in Domenico Tiepolo's work.