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

Glory of Spain (detail)

1762-66
Fresco, 2700 x 1000 cm
Throne Room, Palacio Real, Madrid

The sea-goddess Thetis hovers on a cloud, together with her spouse Oceanus, and holds aloft a shell filled with treasures. Tritons and Nereids, who are meant to symbolize the riches of the sea, accompany the scene. The attempt to bridge the austere Classical golden frame using the group of figures and the orange tree at the lower edge of the picture (possibly a personification of the Province of Aragon), and to create the typical connection between the fresco and the space occupied by the viewer does not succeed here.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.