The Game of Bowls — About This Work
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1797–1804
About the Work
Punchinello figures compete in a game of bowls before a tall wall. Their characteristic hats and masks give the group a comic identity, while varied poses make the action lively across the broad sheet.
The museum identifies the game as bocce and draws attention to the imposing fortress behind it. That setting complicates the whimsy of the players, introducing a structure that can be read in terms of watchfulness and constraint.
Brown ink and wash organise the figures into a scene that remains readable in detail. The contrast between energetic bodies and the steadier architecture gives the drawing a tension beyond the simple recording of a pastime.
The Work
Artist: Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo
Title: The Game of Bowls
Date: 1797–1804
Medium: Pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk; framing lines in brown ink over graphite on antique laid paper
Recorded dimensions: 47.3 × 35.5 cm (W × H)
Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession number: 1937.571
Print & Presentation
Palatine presentation: 45 × 60 cm Classic Frame, landscape.
The complete artwork is reproduced at its recorded scale, subject only to negligible whole-pixel rounding, without enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion. The surrounding white presentation area accommodates the artwork within the framed presentation and is incorporated into the print rather than added as a separate mount.
Frame finishes: Black, White or Natural.
Paper & glazing: Enhanced Matte + Perspex; or Enhanced Matte + Moth-Eye.
Why Original Scale?
Most art-print shops offer the same image in a choice of Small, Medium and Large sizes. We take a different approach. For each edition, we begin with the recorded dimensions of the original work and reproduce the complete image at that scale, preserving its proportions and avoiding enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion.
Source: Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0. Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund. 1937.571.
Care: Display in a dry interior away from prolonged direct sunlight and sources of moisture.
Notes from Palatine
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