Tom Kilian Ellen Cutler Renaissance Through 1855 18 February 2013 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: a Biography in Brief Born

in 1696 to a successful Venetian merchant Domenico Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was initially well placed to become one of the best renowned painters of decorative frescoes of his time. Tragically, his father perished a year after Tiepolos birth, and he and his five siblings were raised by their mother Orsetta. Described by one of his contemporaries as all spirit and fire, Tiepolo was known imagination and his ability to render scenes from the newly fashionable areas of mythology, popular history, and scripture in bold and dynamic ways3. He also popularized the idea of the oil sketch as a finished medium worthy of consideration on its own merit2. While a student of Gregorio Lazzarini from the age of fourteen, Tiepolo was hailed as a new Veronese, a 16th Century Venetian painter of high acclaim whose style influenced the young Tiepolo. While Tiepolos early work consisted of paintings of the apostles, he is best known for his frescoes, which adorn the walls and ceilings of several churches and palaces across Italy, Germany, and Spain1. Despite sharing a surname with a wealthy patrician family, the Tiepolos were not themselves aristocrats2. However, several of the Tiepolo children, including Giovanna received godparents who ranked amongst the nobility2. This connection to Giovanni Battista Doria undoubtedly came as a boon to his namesake as, like many other artists of his time, Tiepolos livelihood came chiefly from commissions by the Italian aristocracy, although the Church and various foreign powers funded Tiepolo creations during the course of his lengthy career1.

At age twenty-three Tiepolo married Maria Cecilia Guardi, with whom he had ten children. Seven of them lived to the age of majority, four daughters and three sons. Two of the boys Lorenzo and Guandomenico eventually joined their father in the studio as painters and assistants, while the third joined the clergy. Guandomenico went on to achieve success in the art field, although his brother was not so fortunate2. In assisting their father the two younger Tiepolos aided him in creating works that are now considered some of the first paintings in the immensely popular Grand Manner, a style that celebrated the use of metaphor and symbols of nobility. Stylistically, the Grand Manner used elements reminiscent of classical Roman artwork. The Grand Manner placed a priority on drama rather than strict accuracy, and achieved widespread popularity as a result4. As a member of the High Renaissance, Tiepolo entered the art field at a time when the fanciful imagery and symbols of pagan mythology were growing in popularity. The high drama and exoticism of Roman history and myth, which tended to be treated interchangeably, made appealing alternatives to the stricter rules of iconography involved with painting Christian themes. Tiepolos vibrant imagination more than enabled him to meet that demand. Tiepolo ended his career and his life painting the ceiling frescoes of the royal palace in Madrid. He decorated the throne room and produced two other frescoes, along with numerous other works for Spanish patrons3. As tastes changed and other artists rose in popularity several of Tiepolos works were taken down and replaced after his death. While the end of his career signaled a significant change in the popular style, Tiepolo remained a well-respected master of the craft.

Works Cited 1. William L. Barcham, Tiepolo, Grove Art Online, updated 23 March 2006. http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T084951?q=giova nni+battista+tiepolo&search=quick&pos=5&_start=1#firsthit 2. Keith Christiansen, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770), The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tiep/hd_tiep.htm 3. The Paul J. Getty Museum, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=787 4. Joshua Reynolds, Seven Discourses on Art, 8 May, 2005. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2176/2176-h/2176-h.htm