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

The Madonna of Carmel and the Souls of the Purgatory

1730s
Oil on canvas, 210 x 650 cm
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

The painting was formerly in a chapel in the church of Sant'Apollinare, Venice. After the suppression of the church, the picture was taken to France and cut in two. Both pieces were bought by the Chiesa family for the Brera, the painting was restored to its original form in 1950.

In this large painting, Tiepolo confronted the style of Piazzetta, and at the same time returned to elements of the great Venetian models of the Cinquecento, such as Veronese's Pala di San Zaccaria.