- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
:"See also
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (orGiandomenico Tiepolo ); orLorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo , both sons of Giovanni Battista."Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo (
March 5 ,1696 -March 27 ,1770 ) was a Venetian painter andprintmaker , considered among the last "Grand Manner"fresco painters from the Venetian republic.Biography
Early life (1696-1726)
Giambattista Tiepolo was born in
Venice , the last of six children of sea-captain, Domenico Tiepolo and his wife, Orsetta. While the Tiepolo surname belongs to a patrician family, Giambattista's father did not claim patrician status. The future artist was baptised in his parish church (S. Pietro di Castello ) as "Giovanni Battista", in honour of his godfather, a Venetian nobleman called Giovanni Battista Dorià. His father Domenico died a year after his birth, leaving Orsetta in difficult financial circumstances.Giambattista was initially a pupil of
Gregorio Lazzarini , but the influences from elder contemporaries such asSebastiano Ricci andGiovanni Battista Piazzetta are stronger in his work. At 19 years of age, Tiepolo completed his first major commission, the "Sacrifice of Isaac" (now in theAccademia ). He left Lazzarini studio in 1717, and was received into theFraglia guild of painters.In 1719, Tiepolo married Maria Cecilia Guardi, sister of two contemporary Venetian painters Francesco and
Giovanni Antonio Guardi . Together, Tiepolo and his wife had nine children. Four daughters and three sons survived childhood. Two sons, Domenico and Lorenzo, painted with him as his assistants and achieved some independent recognition. His third son became a priest.Early mature work (1726-50)
A patrician from the Friulian town of
Udine , Dionisio Delfino, commissioned from the young Tiepolo the fresco decoration of the chapel and palace (1726-1728). Tiepolo's first masterpieces in Venice were a cycle of enormous canvases painted to decorate a large reception room ofCa' Dolfin , Venice (ca. 1726–1729), depicting ancient battles and triumph.He was soon in high demand, which he matched with an astounding prolificity. He painted canvases for churches such as that of Verolanuova (1735-40), for the Scuola dei Carmini (1740-47), and the Scalzi 1743-1744), a ceiling for the Palazzi Archinto and Casati-Dugnani in Milan (1731), the
Colleoni Chapel inBergamo (1732-1733), a ceiling for theGesuati (Santa Maria del Rosario) in Venice of "St. Dominic Instituting the Rosary" (1737-39), Palazzo Clerici, Milan (1740), decorations for Villa Cordellini at Montecchio Maggiore (1743-1744) and for the ballroom of thePalazzo Labia , now a television studio in Venice, showing the "Story of Cleopatra" (1745-1750).Tiepolo frescoes the
Würzburg Residenz (1750-53)By 1750, Tiepolo's reputation was firmly established throughout Europe, and accompanied by his son Giandomenico, he traveled to
Würzburg at the call of Prince Bishop Karl Philipp von Greiffenklau in 1750, where he resided for three years and executed magnificent ceiling paintings in the New Residenz palace (completed 1744). His painting for the grandiose Neumann-designed entrance staircase ("Treppenhaus") is the most massive ceiling fresco in the world at 7287 square feet (677 m²), and was completed in collaboration with his sons, Giandomenico and Lorenzo. His "Allegory of the Planets and Continents" depicts Apollo, embarking on his daily course; deities around him symbolize the planets; allegorical figures (on the cornice) represent the four continents, notably including America. He also frescoed the Kaisersaal salon.Return to Venice and Veneto (1753-1770)
He then returned to Venice in 1753, Tiepolo was now richly in demand locally and abroad, where he was elected President of the Academy of Padua. He now completed theatrical frescoes for churches; the "Triumph of Faith" for the Chiesa della Pietà; panel frescos for
Ca' Rezzonico (which now also holds his ceiling fresco from thePalazzo Barbarigo ); and paintings for patrician villas in the Venetian countryside, such asVilla Valmarana (Vicenza ) and a large panegyric ceiling for the now nearly vacantVilla Pisani inStra .In celebrated frescoes at the
Palazzo Labia , he depicted two frescoes on the life of Cleopatra: "Meeting of Anthony and Cleopatra" [http://www.wga.hu/html/t/tiepolo/gianbatt/4labia/1meetin.html] and "Banquet of Cleopatra", [http://www.wga.hu/html/t/tiepolo/gianbatt/4labia/2banque.html] as well as a central ceiling fresco depicts "Triumph of Bellerophon over Time". He collaborated with an expert in perspective, Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna. Colonna who also designed sets for opera highlights the increasing tendency towards composition as a staged fiction in his frescoes. The architecture of the"Banquet" fresco also recalls Veronese's "Wedding at Cannae"Frescoes for the Royal Palace in Madrid
In 1761, Charles III commissioned from the painter a large ceiling fresco to decorate the throne room of the royal palace of
Madrid . The panegyric theme is the "Apotheosis of Spain". In Spain, he incurred the jealousy and the bitter opposition ofAnton Raphael Mengs .Tiepolo died in Madrid on March 27, 1770.
After his death, the rise of stern
Neoclassicism and the post-revolutionary decline of royal absolutism led to the slow decline of the Tiepolo style, but had failed to dent his impact on artistic progress. By 1772 Tiepolo was sufficiently famous to be documented as painter to Doge Giovanni Cornaro, in charge of the decoration of Palazzo Mocenigo a San Polo.Critical assessment and legacy
In his most fluid elaborations, Tiepolo has closest affinity to Ricci, Piazzetta, and
Federico Bencovich . He is a shadowless fresco artist, a sunnier rococoPietro da Cortona . His sumptuous historical set-pieces are enveloped in a regal luminosity. He is principally known for hisfresco work, particularly his panegyric ceilings. These followed theBaroque tradition begun a century before byPietro da Cortona , converting roof to painted sky, elevating petty aristocrats to divine status, and allowing for vast compositions that merged with the delicate ornamentation of the stucco frames. LikeLuca Giordano , his palette was muted, almost water-color like. Like Giordano, he was prolific. With an unrivaled "Sprezzatura ", he painted worlds of fresco, and some such as the walls of Villa Valmarana inVicenza , not only peer into the mythologic scenes, but are meant to relocate viewers into their midst. The earliest example of this is perhaps his canvases in the Ca' Dolfin, which allowed Tiepolo to introduce exuberant costumes, classical sculpture, and action that appears to spill from the frames into the room. Originally set into recesses, they were surrounded with frescoed frames.While his painting is infused with the Venetian spirit, his luminosity is not seen in the previous masters; however, Tiepolo is considered the last "Olympian" painter of the Venetian Republic. Like
Titian before him, Tiepolo was an international star, treasured by royalty far afield for his ability to depict glory in fresco.His children developed similar, but distinctive styles.
List of works
*"The Institution of the Rosary" (1737-39).
**Self portrait at Würzburg, with Giandomenico beside him [http://www.hhog.de/backoffice/mod/netmedia_image/data/695_wurzburg_tiepolo.jpg] [http://www.arengario.net/momenti/momenti38.html] .
*Collecting Mana-National Museum of Serbia .Paintings before 1740
Further reading
* Aldo Rizzi, "Il Tiepolo all'Arcivescovado di Udine", Milano 1965.
* Aldo Rizzi, "Tiepolo a Udine", Milano 1969.
* Aldo Rizzi, "le acqueforti dei Tiepolo", Milano, 1970.
* Aldo Rizzi, "La grafica del Tiepolo: le acqueforti", Milano 1971.
* Aldo Rizzi, "La mostra del Tiepolo", Milano 1971.
* Aldo Rizzi, "Giambattista Tiepolo", Milano 1990.
* Aldo Rizzi, "I Tiepolo a Udine", Milano 1996.External links
* [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/tiepolo_giovanni_battista.html Many works by Tiepolo]
* [http://www.initaly.com/regions/friuli/tiepolo.htm Works in Udine]
* [http://www.boglewood.com/cornaro/xgbtiepolo.html Short biography]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tiep/hd_tiep.htm Illustrated biography and discussion of famous works]
* [http://www.cartoonbank.com/product_details.asp?mscssid=WJ069CAE80WD8PASNU7TR0MKK37SCRWA&sitetype=1&sid=123681&did=4 New Yorker Cartoon]
* [http://www.ilfriuli.it/index.php?sez=view_art&CodArticolo=7705 Aldo Rizzi il Friuli]
* [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Rizzi Aldo Rizzi]
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