Tiepolo

The greatest painter of eighteenth-century Italy, Giambattista Tiepolo was both a master of the vivid colors, palpable movement, and dramatic, emotional scenes that characterize baroque art, and an expert in the later rococo style, which ushered in a lighter palette and looser brushwork. In "Tiepolo: The Complete Paintings," Filippo Pedrocco provides a comprehensive examination of the paintings produced by this remarkable artist. Though Tiepolo began his career in his native city of Venice, his artistic prowess quickly brought him into contact with some of Europe's most influential figures. Kings and queens, princes and patriarchs commissioned him to decorate the walls and ceilings of their palaces in Venice, Milan, and Wurzburg with grand canvases and frescoes. Monks, nuns, and even archbishops requested religious paintings for their churches and cathedrals in Bergamo, Vicenza, and Nymphenburg. The patronage of the rich and powerful brought Tiepolo fame and a string of masterpieces to serve as his legacy. Included in this stunning volume are all of the artist's paintings, each illustrated and expertly discussed by the author, a specialist in Venetian painting. Experience both the large-scale decorative frescoes, many of which are still in situ and therefore not widely accessible to the general audience, and the smaller, yet equally moving altarpieces, such as the Martyrdom of Saint Agatha, executed for the famous pilgrimage church of Saint Anthony in Padua. Through Tiepolo's masterful art the lavish opulence of eighteenth-century Italy is vividly brought to life.