A Recital in a Monastery

Nothing seemed to escape Domenico Tiepolo’s teasing in the comical drawings he made late in his career. Here he depicted a well-attended performance in the refectory of a monastery. An actor dressed as a Roman soldier takes the stage (a dining table) as an orchestra plays and spectators gather. Tiepolo took aim at the monks’ boisterous and distracted behavior—chatting, moving about, lifting furniture—during the recital, placing a sign reading SILENSIUM above the noisy scene.