Giovanni Battista TIEPOLO (Venice, 1696 – Madrid, 1770) Study of a female figure for a ceiling decoration Pen and brown ink, brown wash Marked ‘132’ in the bottom left-hand corner in grey ink Study of a female figure for a ceiling decoration, pen and brown ink, brown wash, by G. B. Tiepolo 10.43 x 7.48 in. 26.5 x 19 cm Provenance: Collection of Dan Fellows Platt (1873–1938), his stamp (L.750a) on the reverse; At Jean de Cayeux, Paris, his stamp (L.4461) in the bottom right-hand corner; Private European collection Our drawing probably comes from an album containing over 170 drawings of figures seen da sotto in su, entitled *Sole figure per soffitti*, which was in the collection of Count Bernardino Algarotti Corniani (1780 – after 1856) in Venice during the 19th century, and subsequently in that of the English art collector Edward Cheney (1802/3–1884). This album, presumably compiled by Giambattista Tiepolo in the 1750s with the aim of passing on his modus operandi to the members of his studio and, in particular, to his son Giandomenico, was subsequently sold at Christie’s on 14 July 1914 (as lot 49) and subsequently broken up. Our drawing bears a resemblance to a sheet from the former collection of Dr Rudolf Heinemann, now held at the Morgan Library in New York (inv. no. 1996.84). These works, executed in ink and wash, bear witness to the painter’s incredible mastery of this technique. We would like to thank Bernard Aikema for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing following a visual examination on 1 July 2026, and for the information he has provided. Giovanni Battista TIEPOLO (Venice, 1696 – Madrid, 1770) 26.5 x 19 cm