Study Pack
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
The last great Venetian painter, whose luminous ceiling frescoes and oil sketches represent the pinnacle of 18th-century Baroque decorative art.
How to Read with the Mend Index
Apply these B/P/M/S interpretation tips when evaluating works attributed to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo:
Tiepolo's oil sketches (bozzetti) show rapid, confident brushwork quite different from his finished frescoes. Both should exhibit luminous, airy handling.
Many Tiepolo works are in situ (churches, palaces). Portable works should have clear provenance from documented collections, especially given attribution confusion with his son Giandomenico.
Fresco, oil on canvas, and pen-and-wash drawings are the primary media. His drawings are highly sought and frequently misattributed.
Distinguish father (Giovanni Battista) from son (Giandomenico) — the father's work is airier and more luminous; the son's tends toward genre scenes with denser compositions.
Official collection links — no images hosted here due to copyright