The Ca' Dolfin Tiepolos are a series of ten oil paintings made c.1726–1729 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo for the main reception room or salone of the Palazzo Ca' Dolfin, the palazzo of the patrician Dolfin family (sometimes spelled Delfini, Delfino, or Delfin) in Venice. The paintings are theatrical depictions of events from the history of Ancient Rome, with a typically Venetian emphasis on drama and impact rather than historical accuracy. They were painted on shaped canvases and set into the architecture with frescoed surrounds.
The Tarantine Triumph was the first work completed, depicting the triumph awarded to Manius Curius Dentatus after defeating Pyrrhus of Epirus in the Battle of Beneventum, the last battle of the Pyrrhic War 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 after defeating Jugurtha of Numidia 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 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 in Vienna, three by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and five by the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search