Susanna and the Elders (recto); Architectural design and other scribbles (verso)
Giovanni Battista Pittoni
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This small, energetic composition sketch in black chalk portrays the apocryphal Old Testament story of Susannah, here seen in voluptuous nudity on the right, being surprised at her bath by the two lecherous elders, whose figures are summarily indicated. The artist first rapidly and lightly sketched the overall composition, and then boldly reworked the outlines of the male figures with much greater pressure of the hand for tonal emphasis. Representing Pittoni's typical Rococo sensibility, the composition sketch appears to have been intended for a finished painting or print, and seems to be closely related to that of a sketch in the Museo Civico Correr, Venice (inv. 4338) and in the Fondazione Cini, Venice (inv. 30.252.) Several compositions of Susannah and the Elders by Pittoni are extant, although none representing a finished monumental painting has been identified. The verso contains some incidental scribbles in black and red chalks (a motif toward the top appears to represent architectural forms), which do not appear to be by the artist. The verso annotation in black chalk "79" is by an 18th century hand, while the verso annotation in graphite "14[?].39.8/1" is by a modern hand. (Carmen C. Bambach, 2005)
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.