40 GIANDOMENICO The drawing belongs to a set of 103 illustrating the life of Punchinello, a character TIEPOLO from the Venetian carnival who owes his origin to the commedia dell'arte, a traditional Italian, 1727­1804 form of popular entertainment in Italy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Punchinello Helped to a Chair "Sly, lazy...up to all sorts of tricks [and] primed with jokes that were often obscene," Pen and brown ink and brown wash he was the very antithesis of the noble hero. The compositions from the series range over black chalk 35.3 x 47 cm (13 15/16 x I8 1/2 in.) from comedy to tragedy, from trivial incident to events of great moment. In nearly all Cat. I, no. 50; 84.GG.10 of them, the tall, hunchbacked figure of Punchinello, clad in white costume, a ruff about his neck, a sugarloaf hat, and black mask with beaky nose, appears amid his companions playing his various, often bizarre, roles. The drawings came from an album that originally bore the title Divertimento per li ragazzi (Entertainment for children), made around 1800. In this example Punchinello staggers in from the outdoors supporting himself with a stick and is helped to a chair. As in other drawings from the series, there is extensive underdrawing in black chalk. Giandomenico Tiepolo was the eldest son, pupil, and collaborator of his father, Giovanni Battista (see no. 35). 52 ITALIAN SCHOOL