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Divertimento per li Regazzi (Entertainment for Children)

The Game of Bowls

1797–1804
(Italian, 1727–1804)
Italy, 18th century
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
Support: Cream(1) laid paper
Image: 29.7 x 41.6 cm (11 11/16 x 16 3/8 in.); Sheet: 35.5 x 47.3 cm (14 x 18 5/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1937.571
Location: 101A Prints & Drawings
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Did You Know?

This drawing is part of a larger series that depicts the life of Punchinello, a clown-like character derived from Italian popular theater.

Description

Here, Punchinello characters sporting their signature conical hats and hooked-nosed masks compete against a group of men in a lively game of bocce,an Italian bowling game. While their exaggerated movements infuse the drawing with a sense of whimsy, the massive prison fortress behind them suggests surveillance and control. Although not overtly political, this detail may allude to Venice’s fall to the French in 1797, which led to a ban on the commedia dell’arte, Italy’s popular theater tradition with its mocking Punchinellos.
The Game of Bowls

The Game of Bowls

1797–1804

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

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

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