Giovanni Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born in Venice, the last of six children of sea-captain, Domenico Tiepolo and his wife, Orsetta.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was initially a pupil of Gregorio Lazzarini, but the influences from elder contemporaries such as Sebastiano Ricci and Giambattista Piazzetta are stronger in his work.
He is considered by many as a prototype painter of the decorative Italian Rococo movement of the 18th century. Tiepolo's first masterpieces in Venice were a cycle of enormous canvases depicting ancient battles and triumph. He was soon in high demand for his glorious painting style.
By 1750, Tiepolo's reputation was firmly established throughout Europe, and accompanied by his sons Giandomenico Tiepolo and Lorenzo Tiepolo he painted many famous ceilings in Wurzburg. 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.
Minerva Preventing Achilles from Killing Agamemnon, from 'The Iliad' by Homer, 1757
America, detail from The Glory of Spain II , from the Ceiling of the Throne Room, 1764
Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, slaying the Chimaera, detail of the ceiling
Achilles consoled by his mother, Thetis, from 'The Iliad' by Homer, 1757
PD.129-1961 Caricature of a man with a bent head, possibly a hunchback
