Sketch for a Ceiling1750s
This small, quickly painted picture is typical of the sketches Tiepolo made as studies for larger compositions. More about this work
About this work
This small, quickly painted picture is typical of the sketches Tiepolo made as studies for larger compositions. When completed full-scale on a ceiling, works like these give the impression of a massive window, through which one can see angels or mythological beings floating among the clouds. Although we know from the work's shape that it was a study for a ceiling painting, it is not related to any of Tiepolo's finished architectural decorations. Tiepolo used such sketches to explore design problems, experiment with form and color, or give his clients an idea of how a finished project would look. With the help of a large workshop, which included two of his sons, Tiepolo completed a number of painted ceilings and decorative schemes across Europe.
Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Italian, 1696–1770 · Born in Venice; died in Madrid.
Tiepolo was the leading decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, covering ceilings and walls with airy skies, foreshortened figures and luminous colour. After establishing himself in Venice, he worked with his sons Giandomenico and Lorenzo on the frescoes of the Residenz at Würzburg in 1750–53, and in 1762 he went to Madrid to decorate the Royal Palace for Charles III, remaining there until his death. Rinaldo and Armida, the lovers of Tasso’s epic Jerusalem Delivered, were subjects he painted more than once.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Cleveland Museum of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1916.780
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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