Diana and Callisto

Diana and Callisto, painted around 1720 and now at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, depicts the moment the goddess Diana discovers her nymph Callisto's pregnancy by Jupiter — a discovery that leads to Callisto's transformation into a bear. The subject, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, was popular in Baroque and Rococo painting for its dramatic possibilities: the group of female figures at the bath, the exposure of Callisto's secret through Jupiter's violation of her chastity, the divine punishment for a mortal's helpless victimization. Tiepolo's early treatment of this Ovidian theme already displays the theatrical staging and luminous palette that would characterize his mature style, placing him in the tradition of Venetian mythological painting that ran from Titian and Veronese through the preceding century. The Gallerie dell'Accademia's holding of this early work provides important evidence of his Venetian formation.

Bright, high-keyed palette with silvery highlights announces Tiepolo's departure from the dark tonalism that had dominated Venetian painting. The dynamic grouping of figures across the canvas creates a rhythmic energy that would become his signature.