The Chariot of Aurora

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

1760s · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

This oil sketch was probably presented as a proposal by Tiepolo for the decoration of a ceiling in the royal palace in Madrid. Tiepolo was summoned to Spain in 1762 to decorate the throne room, but a ceiling representing Aurora was painted in the queen’s bedroom in 1763 by Tiepolo’s German rival, Anton Raphael Mengs. Here, Aurora, goddess of dawn, crosses the sky in her chariot, accompanied by the Hours and heralded by Apollo; the figure of Time is on the right. Allegories of abundance appear in the form of Ceres, who holds a sheaf of wheat, and Bacchus, who wears a crown of leaves.

Artist

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Date

1760s

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1996