Two Heads of Angels (fragment)

Two Heads of Angels, a fragment at the Courtauld Gallery painted around 1767, preserves a detail from a larger Tiepolo composition of his Spanish period, separated from its original context by later fragmentation. Such fragments — heads or figures cut from damaged or dismembered larger works — acquire an independent beauty that concentrates attention on the specific qualities of a painter's touch, and Tiepolo's angel heads are among the most beautiful of all Rococo figure details: the soft luminous flesh, the slightly parted lips, the celestial expression rendered with summary confidence. The Courtauld's five Tiepolo works from the Aranjuez period make it the primary London location for studying his final Spanish production — this fragment complementing the intact modelli that preserve the complete compositional thinking of his last altarpiece commission.

The two cherubic heads are painted with the rapid, confident technique that Tiepolo deployed for decorative details. The warm flesh tones and soft modeling give the angels a lively presence despite their fragmentary state.