Adam's THE LIBRARY COLLECTION 26th April 2022

159 www.adams.ie The Library Collection | 26 th April 2022 249 ATTRIBUTED TO JONATHAN FISHER (1740-1809) Rural views with figures on horseback A pair, watercolour, each 17 x 21cm € 200 - 300 250 MANNER OF TIEPOLO (16TH/17TH CENTURY) Figures with a chest Pen, ink and brown wash Inscribed number 207 within a blue stamp Mounted; together with another Old Master drawing of a figural group Ink and brown wash Inscribed lower left Mounted and framed Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was a Venetian painter and printmaker of the Rococo period. He was known as one of the main artists of the 18th centu- ry working in the idealised style of the Grand Manner of the High Renais- sance. His work was theatrical, celebrating artistic imagination and fantasy in creating compositions filled with characters from ancient mythology. He was equally respected for his draughtmanship, creating highly skilled drawings and oil sketches and enjoyed a very successful career as a print- maker. Drawings of this kind were very common in the period, often acting as preparatory pen and ink sketches for larger scale compositions. Artists drew on subject matter of classical mythology, depicting stories of gods and goddesses particularly known for their drama and eroticism. This work potentially tells the story of Diana and Actaeon, the latter who stum- bled upon Diana while she was bathing and, in her surprise, and fear she splashed him with water transforming him into deer. Depicting the nude body, particularly that of female figures was a skill honed through the act of drawing. and these mythological subjects of- fered ample opportunity to practice. In this work it appears that we have interrupted her in the act of bathing with the shallow pool of water at her feet and attendants on hand, removing water jugs from the trunk to help wash her. The look on her face as she turns to stand is one of surprise or of shock, potentially caused by the arrival of an unknown figure, a hunt - er visible through the archway in the top right corner. She attempts to protect her modesty with arms raised to cover her breast while she and her attendant struggle to drape her with a robe. As work it is filled with excitement and movement, sketched quickly by the artist, depicting the moments before the action, filled with anticipation and high drama. € 800 - 1,200 251 IRISH SCHOOL (EARLY 19TH CENTURY) Carlingford Bay and Down Pencil drawings, 13 x 26cm; 16 x 26cm € 150 - 250