Jupiter and Semele

Sebastiano Ricci painted Jupiter and Semele early in his career, around 1695, when the Venetian painter was still developing the light, airy Rococo style that would make him famous. The myth of Semele — who demanded to see Jupiter in his divine form and was consumed by lightning — was a popular Baroque subject linking divine power with erotic passion and tragic consequence. Ricci's version anticipates the loosely painted mythologies that would characterise his later career.

The composition centres on the moment of Jupiter's divine revelation, with Semele thrown back by the celestial light. Ricci employs a warm, golden palette and his characteristically fluid brushwork. The looseness of the paint handling, with rapid highlights defining cloud and flame, already points toward the Rococo manner of his maturity.