Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory, painted in 1726 and now in the Courtauld Gallery, coincides precisely with the canonization of the young Jesuit nobleman who died nursing plague victims in Rome in 1591 at age twenty-three. Pope Benedict XIII declared Aloysius a saint on December 31, 1726, and this painting — almost certainly a commission responding to the canonization — demonstrates Tiepolo's capacity for rapid, authoritative responses to events in the Catholic devotional calendar. Aloysius Gonzaga was the scion of one of Italy's most powerful noble families, his renunciation of his inheritance in favor of Jesuit religious life making him a Counter-Reformation emblem of aristocratic sacrifice. The Jesuit order, which ran numerous educational institutions across the Veneto, was an important source of artistic commissions for Tiepolo throughout his career. The Courtauld Institute acquired this work as part of its holdings of Italian Baroque and Rococo painting, where it stands alongside the museum's other significant Tiepolo works including the Two Heads of Angels.

Upward-surging composition lifts the young saint toward divine light, with putti and clouds creating the celestial architecture Tiepolo would perfect in his later ceiling frescoes. The bright, high-keyed palette conveys supernatural radiance.