Tiepolo, 'An Allegory with Venus and Time'

Tiepolo's painting was designed to fit into a ceiling in a Venetian palace. The director takes a closer look at how the artist created the effect of figures hanging in the sky above the viewer.

Transcript

If you're wondering about the shape of this painting, and also, why it hangs out at this seemingly precarious angle, you're not alone.

It was actually made to fit into a ceiling; the ceiling of a Venetian palace owned by the noble Contarini family. The artist, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, was one of the greatest Venetian painters of the 18th century, and was immensely skilled at creating soaring views like this one.

Notice how his composition gradually leads our eye upwards, along the scythe at the bottom, then across to the left to the naked figure of Venus, and up again to the right, where the Three Graces scatter rose petals.

If you look at the figure nearest to us, you can see quite clearly how Tiepolo distorted his characters' bodies and faces to create the impression that they're high up above.

But it's in the middle that we find the focus of this composition: the tiny baby who looks directly out at us. He's Venus' son, Aeneas, who was half god and half human. He's being handed over to Time, to be taken to earth to live among ordinary mortals.

We aren't entirely sure why the Contarini family chose this particular scene, but it may have been linked to the birth of a new child.

In this context, the painting would have provided a visual connection between Aeneas - who was the legendary founder of Rome - and the Contarini's own noble ancestry.

I remember seeing this painting for the very first time, shortly after the Gallery acquired it. I came across it by chance as I wandered through the galleries, and its composition, its delicate colours, and dramatic clouds made quite an impact.

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