La Furlana, no. 31 from the series Divertimento per gli ragazzi (Entertainment for Children)
Not on view
Tiepolo's La Furlana is a spirited drawing from the artist's final major project entitled Divertimento per li regazzi (Entertainment for Children), a spectacular suite of 104 Punchinello drawings. One of three dance subjects in the series, La Furlana refers to the lively traditional folk dance of the Veneto, named for its origin in the Frinli region. In a clearing, a small band plays while townsfolk and Punchinellos subsumed by the lively music dance energetically in the foreground. Their precarious poses and the women's fluttering hair and skirts imbue the scene with thrilling dynamism. Cropping the figures radically on both sides of the composition, Tiepolo's characters dance in and out of the picture plane leaving the middle ground vacant as they whirl about in a large circle. In contrast to the vibrant dancers, the sweeping, clear sky at left, the setting sun, and the slivers of shadows cast by the figures give the scene a curious languor.
- Artist
- Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804)
- Title
- La Furlana, no. 31 from the series Divertimento per gli ragazzi (Entertainment for Children)
- Date
- ca. 1800
- Object Type
- Drawings
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink and brown wash over charcoal on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 13 15/16 x 18 1/2 in. (35.4 x 47 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, Georges de Batz Collection, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts Endowment Fund
- Accession Number
- 1967.17.133