Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

The Death of Hyacinth

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was a Venetian painter. His work was strongly influenced by the Venetian artists Paolo Veronese. In 1721 Tiepolo married Cecilia, sister of the Venetian painter Francesco Guardi, by whom he had nine children. At least two of those children, Domenico and Lorenzo, worked with him as his assistants.

Works

• The Institution of the Rosary (1737-9).
• Ceiling frescos in the palace of the Archbishop at Würzburg (1750-53)
• The decorating the palace of Charles III of Spain in Madrid (1761-70).

His painting for the grand staircase in the Würzburg Residenz is the largest ceiling fresco in the world at 7287 square feet (677 m²). He also painted numerous palaces in Venice and the Veneto, including the ceiling at the palace in Stra. He shows a masterful command of populated historical set-pieces, enveloped in a regal luminosity, and dressed in pompous arrays.

Further Reading