Born in Venice in 1696, Tiepolo was the son of Domenico and Orsetta Tiepolo. He was the youngest of six children in the family. Giambattista Tiepolo's father was a small shipping merchant who belonged to a family that bore the prestigious patrician name of Tiepolo without claiming any noble descent. His father died in 1697, leaving his mother to bring up a family of young children in difficult circumstances.
In 1710 he became a pupil of Gregorio Lazzarini, a painter of decorative, academic taste, who taught him the basic techniques of his profession. He was, though, strongly influenced by his study of the art works of other contemporary artists such as Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and those of his Venetian predecessors, especially Tintoretto and Veronese.
By the time Tiepolo was 20, he had exhibited his work independently and received his recognition at an exhibition held at the church of S. Rocco. The next year, in 1718, he became a member of the Fraglia, or painters' guild.
In the 1720's he carried out many large-scale commissions on the northern Italian mainland. In 1725, Giovanni Tiepolo received his first fresco commission for a palace in Udine. Here Tiepolo abandoned the dark hues that had characterized his early style and turned instead to the bright, sparkling colors that were to make him famous.
Tiepolo's first masterpiece was a series of paintings for a massive reception area at the Ca’ Dolfin. They depicted historic battles and triumphs of the Roman Empire. Tiepolo's early masterpieces brought him later numerous commissions. During the 1730s he also created many canvases for churches, which included Verolanuova (1735-1740), for the Scuola dei Carmini (1740-1747) and the Chiesa degli Scalzi (1743-1744) in Cannaregio, a ceiling for the Palazzi Archinto and Casati-Dugnani in Milan (1731), the Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo (1732-1733), Palazzo Clerici, Milan (1740), decorations for Villa Cordellini at Montecchio Maggiore (1743-1744).
In the decade from 1740 to 1750, he produced works based on secular themes. During this time he became a close friend of Count Algarotti, who was an important personality in the international cultural life of that time.
Gianbattista Tiepolo spent several years traveling mostly in Northern Italy. During this period of time, he created many frescoes for churches and palaces. He also created artworks in oil, including the Sacrifice of Melchidezek and Gathering of the Manna. They were painted for the parish church in Verolanuova and each one stands about 32 feet high. Other frescoes of this period included the beautiful Antony and Cleopatra collection which was completed before he left for Würzburg.
External political forces kept foreigners from Venice in the second half of the 1740s. It caused an economic slowdown in the city and made Venetian artists to seek employment in other countries. Although Tiepolo was so active in this decade that he enlisted the help of his son Giovanni Domenico (Giandomenico, 1723-1804), he nevertheless accepted the lucrative invitation to work for Prince Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau of Würzburg. It was the culmination of his career, when he created the ceilings at the Residenz in Würzburg, Germany, between 1750 and 1753. He painted a scene that portrayed Apollo and the different continents of the world. This work was over 7,000 square feet when he finished it. The palace was an excellent example of German Rococo architectural mastery. This mixture of painting and architecture is considered by many to be the best work of Tiepolo’s career.
Tiepolo returned to Venice in 1753. He was in demand not only locally but also abroad. He was elected President of the Academy of Padua. He went on to finish theatrical frescoes for churches; the Triumph of Faith for the Chiesa della Pietà; panel frescos for Ca' Rezzonico; and paintings for patrician villas in the Venetian countryside. In 1757, he created an altar piece for the Thiene family, representing the apotheosis of Saint Cajetan. It is now in the church of hamlet of Rampazzo in the Camisano Vicentino.
Gianbattista Tiepolo created two kinds of etchings. The Capricci (circa 1740-1742) and the Scherzi di fantasia (circa 1743-1757). Ten of the Capricci etchings were released by Anton Maria Zanetti, as they were incorporated into the third edition of a compilation of woodcuts after Parmigiano. They were not published separately until 1785. The topic of these works was very imaginary and they reminded people of work done by Salvator Rosa and Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. The Scherzi series took 10 years to complete and it was published after his death, with numbers and titles added by his son, Giandomenico. Subjects in the etchings included many mysterious Eastern figures and some prints had scenes of necromancy.
Charles III of Spain commissioned the artist to design a ceiling fresco for his throne room in the Royal Palace in 1761. The eulogistic theme was the Apotheosis of Spain. The king also commissioned several altarpieces to be made for the Aranjuez. While Tiepolo was there, he painted two other ceilings in the palace, and carried out many private commissions.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was an extremely prolific artist. Critics now rank him with the greatest painters of all ages. His legacy includes over 800 paintings, 2,000 drawings, and two etching sets. There are also plenty of frescoes that carry his name that decorate many churches, villas, and palaces.
One reason that Tiepolo was able to complete so many frescoes as well as other works was because he sketched small models for his clients to approve. He then had many talented and skilled assistants, who helped him to complete the work.
Gianbattista Tiepolo is still regarded as one of Italy’s most important painters. Many consider his greatest works to be the frescoed ceilings that he painted for many churches in Venice and also for the villas in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
Today, his works are held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and the Prado Museum in Madrid, among others.
Angelica, accompanied by a shepherd who cares Medorus with herbs
The Force of Eloquence, Bellerophon and Pegasus
King David Playing the Harp
St James the Greater Conquering the Moors
Rinaldo and Armida
The Repudiation of Hagar
Abraham and the Three Angels
Apollo and Daphne
The Theological Virtues
Battle of Vercellae
Venus asks Vulcan to forge an armor for Aeneas
Hannibal looks at the head of Hasdrubal
The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew
Mercury, from Mercury Exhorting Aeneas to Leave Carthage
Pope St Clement Adoring the Trinity
The Death of Sophonisba
The Glory of St Dominic
An Allegory with Venus and Time
Finding of Moses
Apollo and the Continents
Portrait of the Procurator Dolfin
Christ on the Road to Calvary
Rinaldo's Departure from Armida
The reception of Henry III
Susanna and the Elders
Worshippers
Abraham and the Three Angels
Worshippers
Hagar in the Wilderness
Neptune Offering Gifts to Venice
Prudence, Sincerity and Temperance
The Banquet of Cleopatra
Venus and Vulcan
The appearance of the angel before Sarah
Madonna of the Goldfinch
Apparition of the Virgin to St Simon Stock
The Triumph of Fortitude and Sapiency
The Meeting of Anthony
Rinaldo and Armida are surprised by Ubaldo and Carlo
A Young Woman With a Macaw
Adoration of the Magi
Detail of Dido, from Aeneid Presents Cupid, Disguised as Ascanius, to Dido
Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the Studio of Apelles
The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
The Virgin Appearing to St Dominic
The Discovery of the True Cross and St. Helena
The Holy Family Appearing in a Vision to St Gaetano
Transportation of the Holy House of Nazareth to Loreto
The Judgment of Solomon
The Flight to Egypt
Allegory of Strength and Wisdom
The Madonna of Carmel and the Souls of the Purgatory
Nativity
The Apotheosis of Saint Roch
Bellerophon on Pegasus
Eteokles and Polyneikes
Last Communion of St Lucy
Temptations of St Anthony
The Gathering of Manna
John the Baptist Preaching
The Apotheosis of the Pisani Family
Angelica Carving Medoro's Name on a Tree
Allegory of the Planets and Continents
Fortitude and Justice
Venus and Vulcan
Queen Zenobia before Emperor Aurelianus
The Martyrdom of St Agatha
Eurybates and Talthybios Lead Briseis to Agamemmon
Angelica and Medorus accompanied by two peasants
Hagar Assisted by the Angel
Achilles consoled by his mother, Thetis
St. Anne's Vision
Detail of Agamemnon, from Minerva Restraining Achilles from Killing Agamemnon
The Rape of Europa
The appearance of the angels to Abraham
The Marriage of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Beatrice of Burgundy
The Institution of the Rosary
Rachel Hiding the Idols
Saint Thecla Liberating the City of Este from the Plague
The Immaculate Conception
Meeting of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra
Anaxagoras
The Investiture of Herold as Duke of Franconia
Jupiter and Danae
Head of a Philosopher
Apollo and Diana
Nude study in an academy
Jacob's Dream
St. Catherine of Siena
Nativity of Jesus
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Rinaldo observed by Carlo and Ubaldo
Crown of Thorns
Crucifixion
Maecenas Presenting the Liberal Arts to Emperor Augustus
Apollo and Marsyas
Allegory of Merit Accompanied by Nobility and Virtue
Olymp
The Virgin Appearing to Dominican Saints
Europa
Venetian Promenade
Venus's Farewell to Aeneas, from the Room of the Aeneid in the Palazzina
Rinaldo Abandoning Armida
The Triumph of Flora
Death of Dido
The Triumph of Zephyr and Flora
Apollo leads Frederick Barbarossa Beatrix of Burgundy
Annunciation
The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy
A Seated Man and a Girl with a Pitcher
Boy Holding a Book (portrait of Lorenzo Tiepolo)
Rinaldo and Armida
Sacrifice of Iphigenia
Apparition of the Virgin to St Simon Stock
Carrying the Cross
The Virgin Appearing to St Philip Neri
The Virgin with Six Saints
The Death of Hyacinthus
The Sacrifice of Melchizedek
Christ on the Mount of Olives and the angel with the cup of suffering
The Prophet Isaiah
The Education of the Virgin
Girl with a Mandolin
The Last Supper
Allegorical female figure with a club
The Beheading of John the Baptist
Scipio and a Slave
The Banquet of Cleopatra
Gianbattista Tiepolo was baptised on 16 April 1696 in the local church, San Pietro di Castello (then still officially the cathedral of Venice). Giambattista was originally named after his godfather, a Venetian nobleman called Giovanni Battista Dorià.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was considered an unhealthy and bizarre genius. Described by one of his contemporaries as being "all spirit and fire," he worked with astonishing devotion.
Quotes from others about the person
Vincenzo da Canal: "Engravers and copyists are eager to copy his works, to glean his [Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's] inventions and extraordinary ideas; his drawings are already so highly esteemed that books of them are sent to the most distant countries."
Count Tessin: "[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo is] full of spirit... of infinite fire, dazzling colour, and astonishing speed."
Michael Levey: "[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was] the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, as well as its most able craftsman."
Gianbattista Tiepolo married Maria Cecilia Guardi in 1719. She was the sister of two contemporary Venetian painters Francesco and Giovanni Guardi. The marriage produced nine children and seven of them survived childhood. Two of Tiepolo's sons, Lorenzo and Domenico, worked as his assistants and later achieved their own recognition. His children painted figures with a design similar to that of their father, however, with distinctive, including genre, styles. His third son became a priest.
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching.
