Giambattista Tiepolo: Painting Analysis

This rectangular canvas features a painted oval inhabited by figures set against a blue sky with clouds; the oval is surrounded by a yellow-brown border. In the lower half of the canvas, a muscular man in a horse-drawn chariot rides toward a classical building. Above him, a winged figure hovers with two trumpets, while below two women rest on a cloud supported by a winged putto. Other members of the scene include a half-man, half-horse figure, or centaur, and a soldier wearing a helmet. Figures populate every side of the oval, some extending over the edge. The centaur rests his hoof just slightly over the rim, tricking the viewer’s eye into seeing the brown border as a flat surface on the picture plane and the painted sky as deep space beyond. Loose brushstrokes are visible, giving the work a lively, sketch-like appearance.

Context and Analysis
In this mythological work, the man in the chariot is Herakles, or Hercules, the son of Zeus celebrated for his strength and bravery. As the son of a god, Herakles did not die as a mortal but instead rose to Mount Olympus, the home of the ancient Greek gods. This is the moment Tiepolo chose to depict. Allegorical figures, such as Fame, the winged figure holding the trumpet, accompany the hero, while characters from his past—including the soldier, identified as Castor, and the centaur Nessus—sit