Saint Fidelis of Sigmarigen and Saint Joseph of Leonessa

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen and Saint Joseph of Leonessa, painted in 1752, is connected with the canonization of two Capuchin Franciscan missionaries within a few years of this painting's execution: Fidelis of Sigmaringen in 1746 and Joseph of Leonessa in 1746. Tiepolo received the commission from the Franciscan Capuchin church of the Ara Coeli in Rome — his only confirmed commission in the city — placing him temporarily in direct competition with the Roman painters who dominated the papal art market. Contemporary Roman critics reported that the painting's arrival caused considerable excitement among local painters, including Pompeo Batoni, who was beginning his rise to international fame as a portraitist and history painter. Tiepolo's combination of Venetian luminosity with the emotional fervor of Capuchin martyrdom created an effect that the Roman tradition of academic classicism could not easily match. The Galleria Nazionale di Parma, which holds this work, reflects the dispersal of major Tiepolo commissions across the Italian state collections assembled during the nineteenth century.

The two saints are shown in the lower zone, with celestial figures and divine light above. Tiepolo's organisation of the composition into earthly and heavenly registers is handled with his customary spatial fluency. His Roman palette is slightly richer and more saturated than his Venetian work, perhaps as a concession to Roman taste, while retaining his characteristic luminosity.