Artwork Page for The Woman with a Tambourine

Details / Information for The Woman with a Tambourine

The Woman with a Tambourine

1790s

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

(Italian, 1727–1804)
Culture
Italy, 18th century
Medium
pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, over black chalk; framing lines in pen and brown ink over graphite
Support
Cream(1) laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 35.4 x 47.3 cm (13 15/16 x 18 5/8 in.); Image: 29.7 x 41.7 cm (11 11/16 x 16 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1947.12
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Observed by Punchinello and friends, a centaur is subdued by a maiden’s musical charms. Rendered touchingly vulnerable, the creature lies with its head on the girl’s lap. One of the simplest instruments, the tambourine was typically played by itinerant musicians—nymphs, vagabonds, seducers—and was traditionally considered the quintessential attribute of the outsider, an aspect reinforced in the 20th century by Bob Dylan’s "Mr. Tambourine Man."
A horizontally oriented ink drawing with brown wash depicts a woman brandishing a tambourine over a fallen centaur. At the center, she stands with arms raised above the light-skinned creature, who reclines with equine legs tucked beneath its body. To the left, five men in tall, conical hats observe from beside a peaked tent. On the right, another hatted figure sits beneath palm trees. Brown washes define shadows across the landscape and foreground logs.

The Woman with a Tambourine

1790s

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

(Italian, 1727–1804)
Italy, 18th century

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