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

Apollo and the Continents (Africa, right-hand side)

1752-53
Fresco
Stairwell of the Residenz, Würzburg

The personification of Africa sits astride a dromedary in the hustle and bustle of a market scene, surrounded by Negroes, Orientals and Europeans. She is being offered an incense burner, which, along with other vessels on magnificent cloths and the tusks of ivory, symbolize the goods and the riches of the continent, so coveted by the Europeans. Africa is clearly depicted as a much more civilized place than America.