Christ sent by Pilate to Herod

In the second half of the 1780s, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo embarked on his most extensive project as a draftsman, a series of over three hundred large drawings illustrating the New Testament. It is one of three major graphic narrative cycles produced by the artist late in his career, the others being the Punchinello series and the Scenes of Contemporary Life, each totaling about one hundred sheets. These series were intended as independent works of art, not as studies for works in other media, and can be considered among the most successful in the artist’s œuvre. In general, but particularly with the New Testament series, Domenico worked in a very systematic way, maintaining a consistent quality, signing almost every sheet and providing the drawings with neat framing lines. The artist used large sheets of paper, drew first the essential elements of the composition with black chalk or charcoal, and then executed the finished drawings with pen and ink and gold-brown washes, reserving the white of the paper for highlights. Despite its important place in Giovanni Domenico’s work, very little is known about the artist’s intentions with the New Testament series. The present sheet represents an unusual, and rarely depicted scene, showing Jesus soon after his arrest sent by Pilate to Herod. Giovanni Domenico derived details on this episode from the written accounts of three different gospels.