The ''Ca' Dolfin Tiepolos'' are a series of ten oil paintings made c.1726–1729 by

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an impo ...

for the main reception room or ''salone'' of the , the

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

of the patrician Dolfin family (sometimes spelled Delfini, Delfino, or Delfin) in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. The paintings are theatrical depictions of events from the history of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, with a typically Venetian emphasis on drama and impact rather than historical accuracy. They were painted on

shaped canvas Shaped canvases are paintings that depart from the normal flat, rectangular configuration. Canvases may be shaped by altering their outline, while retaining their flatness. An ancient, traditional example is the '' tondo'', a painting on a round p ...

es and set into the architecture with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed surrounds. ''The Tarantine Triumph'' was the first work completed, depicting the triumph awarded to

Manius Curius Dentatus Manius Curius Dentatus (died 270 BC) was a Roman general and statesman noted for ending the Samnite War and for his military exploits during the Pyrrhic War. According to Pliny, he was born with teeth, thus earning the surname Dentatus, "toothed ...

after defeating Pyrrhus of Epirus in the Battle of Beneventum, the last battle of the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A ski ...

in 275 BC, at which captured elephants were first seen in Rome. ''The Triumph of Marius'' was the last completed, depicting the triumph awarded to

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

after defeating

Jugurtha Jugurtha or Jugurthen (Libyco-Berber ''Yugurten'' or '' Yugarten'', c. 160 – 104 BC) was a king of Numidia. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Jugurtha and his two adoptive brothers, Hiempsal and Adh ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

in the Jugurthine War: it is dated 1729, and includes a self-portrait of Tiepolo on the left. The differences in style and composition between the works demonstrate Tiepolio's rapid development as a painter. The series was quickly recognised as a masterpiece, and its success drove forward Tiepolo's career. He decorated buildings across Venice and the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

in the following decades. The paintings remained in Venice until sold in 1872, and are now held in three museums, with two held by the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...

in Vienna, three by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York, and five by the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

in St Petersburg.

Background

Tiepolo was born in 1696. While still a young man in his 20s, he was commissioned by , the Patriarch of Aquileia, to decorate the Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento in

Udine Cathedral Udine Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Udine, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Maggiore'') is a Catholic cathedral located in Udine, north-eastern Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Udine The Archdiocese of Udine ( la, Archidioecesis Utinensis) is a ...

(completed 1726) and then to paint a two cycles of Old Testament paintings for the (or ''arcivescovado'') in Udine (completed 1726–1728), including and . The paintings from the Patriarchal Palace are now displayed in Udine's . Still only in his early 30s, Tiepolo was then commissioned by Dionisio's brother to paint a series of ten painting depicting scenes from Ancient Rome for a large reception room on the

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...

at the family's house in Venice, the Ca' Dolfin building, on the north side of the just off the Grand Canal. The building had been constructed by the Secco family, and acquired by Cardinal Giovanni Dolfin in 1621. Before Tiepolo began work, the room had already been partially decorated with trompe-l'œil wall paintings by

Antonio Felice Ferrari Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

c.1708 and ceiling frescos by

Niccolò Bambini Niccolò Bambini (1651–1736) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and early-Baroque periods. Biography He was born in Venice in 1651, and first studied under Giulio Mazzoni at Venice. To this period belong the ceiling of the church o ...

c.1714. Gaps in the walls had been left, filled with blank canvases to be painted in oils later: the combination of fresco and oil painting is unusual, but allows artists to switch between mediums according to the season.

Description

The paintings are reconstructions of historical scenes from Ancient Rome. In several cases, the identification of the intended subjects are not certain, but they appear to be an account of the expansion of the Roman Empire, from the (possibly legendary) event when Scaevloa thrust his hand into the sacrificial fire before

Lars Porsena Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan king (lar) known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium (Etruscan: ; modern Chiusi). There are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often plac ...

c.509 BC and the deaths of

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...

and

Arruns Tarquinius (son of Tarquin the Proud) Arruns Tarquinius was the second son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome. History During his father's reign, he accompanied his elder brother, Titus, and their cousin, Lucius Junius Brutus, to consult the Oracle a ...

at the Battle of Silva Arsia in 509 BC, through the wars against the Latin tribes of Italy, including

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was ...

and

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus was ...

fighting against the Volsci,

Corioli Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy, in Latium adiectum. Etymology Linguist Roger Woodard, based on McCone, suggests the name of the town, ''Corioli'', may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *'' ...

and Aequi in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the victory of

over Pyrrhus of Epirus near

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

in 275 BC, the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

at the end of the 3rd century including Quintus Fabius Maximus,

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

, and the capture of Carthage, to the victory of

over the

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...

at the

Battle of Vercellae The Battle of Vercellae, or Battle of the Raudine Plain, was fought on 30 July 101 BC on a plain near Vercellae in Gallia Cisalpina (modern day Northern Italy). A Germanic-Celtic confederation under the command of the Cimbric king Boiorix was ...

in 101 BC. It is possible that the victory of the Romans over Carthage was intended as an allegory for the victory of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

over the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The irregular profiles of the canvases were determined by the architectural features into which they were inserted. The room in Venice has survived, with the recesses now filled with mirrors, so shape of the canvases allows a reconstruction of the original arrangement of the paintings in the room. On the long walls to either side of the main door on the north side were two battle scenes, each measuring approximately , and usually identified as ''The Capture of Carthage'' and ''The Battle of Vercellae'' (both at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York). (Alternatively, they may represent battles of Coriolanus against the Volsci and

.) The opposite long wall has five arched windows overlooking the canal to the south. Two narrower canvases, each approximately , were placed to either side of the central window, depicting ''The Death of Lucius Junius Brutus and Arruns Tarquinius'', and ''Hannibal Contemplating the Head of Hasdrubal'' (both at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna). There were three paintings on the shorter walls to either side, with one large central painting flanked by two smaller ones. The paintings on the west wall, lit from the windows to the south, were ''The Triumph of Marius'' (also in New York) flanked by ''Quintus Fabius Maximus before the Roman Senate'' and ''Cincinnatus Offered the Dictatorship'', and on the east wall opposite were ''The Tarantine Triumph'' flanked by '' Mucius Scaevola before Porsenna'' and ''Veturia Pleading with Coriolanus'' (all five at the Hermitage in St Petersburg). The tall central scenes measure approximately , and each of the four flaking scenes is approximately . Apart from the two battle scenes, the other eight canvases had banderoles explaining the subject, with Latin text taken from the ''Epitome of Roman History'' ("Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum omnium annorum DCC Libri duo"), an early 2nd century commentary attributed to

Lucius Annaeus Florus Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman cognomen): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', an Epitome of Roman History and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or set of ...

on the 1st century AD ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

'' of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

. The banderoles were painted over after the paintings were removed, but some have been restored later. The shapes of the canvases were also altered when they were removed from their original location in 1872, with additional areas added to square them off, but those in New York and Vienna have been restored to their original shapes. Tiepolo adopted a less retrained palette for these paintings than his earlier works, with elements of the Baroque or even the Rococo.

Reception

The paintings were quickly recognised as a masterpiece, praised by Vincenzo da Canal in 1732 as among Teipolo's best, and by

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732 (birth/baptism certificate) – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific ar ...

in 1761 as among his most beautiful works in Venice. They remained in situ for over 200 years while the building was inherited by increasingly distant descendants of the Dolfin family, but the building was largely abandoned by 1870. The Palazzo Ca' Dolfin was acquired by the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in 1955, based at the

Ca' Foscari Ca' Foscari, the palace of the Foscari family, is a Gothic building on the waterfront of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It was built for the doge Francesco Foscari in 1453, and designed by the architect B ...

nearby; restored, it is used as a guesthouse by the university, with the ''salone'' becoming the "Aula Magna", a

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...

for events. To pay a tax bill, a family descendant sold the paintings in 1872 via the art dealer Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim to the Austrian collector Baron for 50,000 livres. The Baron had nowhere to display them: within a few years, he put them on sale again in Paris, and five were acquired by Alexander Polovtsov (sometimes spelled Polovzeff). In 1886, Polovtsov presented them to the Central School of Technical Drawing, which had been founded in St Petersburg by his father-in-law

Alexander von Stieglitz Baron Alexander von Stieglitz (russian: link=no, Александр Людвигович Штиглиц; 1814–1884) was a Russian financier. He was the first governor of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, the predecessor organization to toda ...

. These five paintings have been held by the

in St Petersburg since 1934. The remaining five paintings were returned to Vienna and eventually displayed at the Baron's new

Palais Miller von Aichholz Palais Miller von Aichholz was a city-palace ('' Palais'') in Vienna, Austria. It was constructed for the noble Miller von Aichholz family and later bought by the Jewish aristocrat Camillo Castiglioni. Therefore, the building was later known as ''P ...

. After the Baron's death in 1919, they were bought with the house by the Italian financier Camillo Castiglioni. After Castiglioni became bankrupt in 1924, two of the smaller paintings were sold to the

in Vienna in 1930, and the three others were used as collateral for a loan from Dr Stefan Mendel, co-heir of the Austrian bakery business. They were stored in Zurich, and Mendel acquired them outright in 1935. He took them to New York when he emigrated, and they were kept in storage in Saranac Lake, New York for 30 years. After Mendel's death in 1965, they were sold by his estate to the

in New York. After a gallery at the Metropolitan Museum had been extended to creates a suitable space to hang them, and considerable restoration work, most of the paintings were reunited in New York for an exhibition in 1997.

References

Giambattista Tiepolo, 1696-1770
catalogue of an exhibition at the Museum of

Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and displa ...

, Venice, from September 5 to December 9, 1996 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from January 24 to April 27, 1997, pages 86-103
Painting Then For Now; Fragments of Tiepolo at the Ca’ Dolfin
David Carrier, artcritical.com, 11 December 2007
''The Ca' Dolfin Tiepolos''
Christiansen, Keith. ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', vol. 55, no. 4, 1998, pp. 1–60. www.jstor.org/stable/3269263 doi:10.2307/3269263
The Ca Dolfin Tiepolos
''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', v 55, no 4, Spring 1998
''The Triumph of Marius''
Metropolitan Museum of Art
''The Battle of Vercellae''
Metropolitan Museum of Art
''The Capture of Carthage''
Metropolitan Museum of Art

''The New York Times'', September 8, 1995
''Quintus Fabius Maximus Before the Senate of Carthage''
Hermitage Museum
''Coriolanus at the Walls of Rome''
Hermitage Museum
''Mucius Scaevola before Porsenna''
Hermitage Museum
''Dictatorship Offered to Cincinnatus''
Hermitage Museum
''Triumph of Manius Curius Dentatus''
Hermitage Museum
''Deaths of the consul Lucius Junius Brutus and Arruns Tarquinius''
Kunsthistorisches Museum
''Hannibal Contemplating the Head of Hasdrubal''
Kunsthistorisches Museum {{Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Paintings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Paintings in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Paintings in the collection of the Hermitage Museum Paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Painting series 1720s paintings