TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista
(b. 1696, Venezia, d. 1770, Madrid)

Apollo and the Continents (detail)

1752-53
Fresco
Stairwell of the Residenz, Würzburg

Apollo has left his palace and is floating slowly downward, accompanied by two of the Horae, while the rising sun shines out behind him. This is a mythological representation of the sun rising over the Earth, which is symbolized by the surrounding Continents. The sun appears as a life-giving force which determines the course of the days, months and years.