The Death of the Consul L. J. Brutus
1728–30 | Giambattista Tiepolo
For the main hall of Ca’Dolfin in Venice, Tiepolo painted ten huge canvases in vertical format with scenes from Roman history. After the kings had been driven out of Rome, the young republic waged war against the Etruscans. The two generals, L. J. Brutus (the first consul of Rome) and Aruns Porsena (the son of the last king to be overthrown, Tarquinius Superbus), killed one another in hand-to-hand combat. Tiepolo, whose work sums up the great tradition of painting in Venice in a final climax, masks the horror of the event with his virtuoso artistry.
For the main hall of Ca’Dolfin in Venice, Tiepolo painted ten huge canvases in vertical format with scenes from Roman history. After the kings had been driven out of Rome, the young republic waged war against the Etruscans. The two generals, L. J. Brutus (the first consul of Rome) and Aruns Porsena (the son of the last king to be overthrown, Tarquinius Superbus), killed one another in hand-to-hand combat. Tiepolo, whose work sums up the great tradition of painting in Venice in a final climax, masks the horror of the event with his virtuoso artistry.
Artist:
Giambattista Tiepolo (1696 Venedig - 1770 Madrid) DNB
Time:
1728–30
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Italian, Venetian
Material/technology:
Canvas
Dimensions:
oben und unten geschweift: top and bottom curved: 383 x 182 cm
Inscribed
Auf dem Schriftbild oben das verballhornte Zitat: MVTVO VVLNERE OCCVBVIT ADVLTERVM FERE AD INFEROS SEVITVR ...
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 6798
Provenance
Part of the furnishings of the great hall of Ca'Dolfin near S. Pantaleon in Venice; 1870 Coll. Miller v. Aichholz, Vienna; Coll. Castiglione, Vienna; acquired in 1930