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an old drawing of a building with a staircase and a man sitting on a bench in front of it
Dams Casa d'Aste

17 - Giuseppe Galli Bibiena (attributed to) – Design for a monume…
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Estimate €800 - €1,200
Sale commission
Description
Giuseppe Galli Bibiena (attributed to) – Design for a monumental commemorative building, with plan and elevation Pen and brown ink, with grey and brown washes on laid paper with a watermark, 501 x 362 mm This large sheet is a significant example of the extraordinary design expertise developed by the Galli Bibiena family, who were the undisputed leading figures in European scenography and ephemeral architecture between the 17th and 18th centuries.The composition depicts a monumental structure with a curvilinear layout, articulated through a complex succession of columns, arches, balustrades, staircases and projections, enlivened by a rich array of statues and crowned at the centre by an elaborate oval cartouche. In the lower part of the sheet is the architectural plan, meticulously drawn to correspond with the elevation above.It is precisely the co-existence of the plan and the elevation, together with the almost working-drawing-like precision of the representation, that distinguishes the sheet from the freer scenographic works and allows it to be grouped with the specific category of design and presentation drawings produced in the Galli Bibiena workshop for celebratory displays, ephemeral architectural structures and monumental court machines.The architectural composition, still firmly rooted in a late Baroque conception, finds significant parallels in the work of Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, to whom the monumentality of the whole, the dynamic articulation of the masses and the rigorous control of perspective all point. At the same time, the elegant curvilinear development of the architecture, the richness of the sculptural detailing and, above all, the simultaneous presentation of the plan and elevation bring it very close to the work of Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, who developed and disseminated his father’s architectural language amongst the major European courts.Particularly relevant in this regard are the numerous designs attributed to Giuseppe and his workshop, now preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in which the same conception of the sheet as a tool for architectural presentation recurs, with plan and elevation combined and a similar use of pen, brown ink and grey washes. Of particular interest for the chronological dating of the work is also the laid paper bearing a watermark attributable to the production of the Honig family, a major Dutch paper-making firm whose papers enjoyed very wide international circulation throughout the 18th century. The designation ‘C & I HONIG’ is documented as early as the 1730s, whilst variants associated with the so-called ‘Strasbourg lily’ were used by the Honig mill from at least 1741. The presence of this paper is therefore entirely consistent with dating the drawing to the first half of the 18th century and, more specifically, to the period spanning the final decades of Ferdinando’s career and the height of Giuseppe’s artistic maturity.The absence of inscriptions within the large oval cartouche at the centre of the crowning element may indicate the design-oriented nature of the sheet: the space may have been intended to subsequently accommodate an inscription, a portrait, a motto or a heraldic emblem relating to the specific celebratory occasion.In terms of the quality of execution, the complexity of the design and the monumental nature of the composition, the sheet constitutes a significant example of the graphic work of the Galli Bibiena family, with characteristics that allow its attribution to be narrowed down primarily to Ferdinando and Giuseppe Galli Bibiena.Further reading: D. Lenzi, J. Bentini (eds.), *I Bibiena. Una famiglia europea*, Venice, Marsilio, 2000.
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About the sale Paintings and Drawings from the 15th to the 19th century
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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