St Martin of Tours
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo·c. 1733
Historical Context
Saint Martin of Tours, painted around 1733 and now in Ca' Rezzonico, depicts the fourth-century Roman soldier who divided his cloak with a beggar and later became Bishop of Tours. Martin — one of the most popular saints in European devotion — embodied the Christian virtue of charity. Tiepolo renders the legendary act of generosity with characteristic luminosity. Ca' Rezzonico, Venice's museum of eighteenth-century art housed in a magnificent Baroque palazzo on the Grand Canal, provides an ideal setting for viewing Tiepolo's paintings in the kind of architectural environment for which they were created.
Technical Analysis
The mounted saint dominates the composition from an elevated viewpoint, with the beggar below creating a strong vertical dynamic. Brilliant white highlights on the cloak and armor demonstrate Tiepolo's mastery of light on reflective surfaces.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the mounted Saint Martin dominating the composition from an elevated viewpoint, with the beggar below creating a strong vertical dynamic.
- ◆Look at the brilliant white highlights on the cloak and armor demonstrating Tiepolo's mastery of light on reflective surfaces.
- ◆Observe the fourth-century Roman soldier who divided his cloak with a beggar — one of the most popular saints in European devotion.
