Apollo and Phaëthon

Tiepolo's Apollo and Phaëthon, painted in 1731, depicts the myth of Phaëthon — the son of Apollo who rashly drove his father's solar chariot and nearly destroyed the world before Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt. The chariot of the sun hurtling out of control was a subject perfectly suited to Tiepolo's ability to paint dynamic aerial action with convincing spatial drama. The painting belongs to his early mature period, demonstrating the celestial compositional invention that would bring him international fame.

The celestial chariot and its panicking horses are rendered in urgent aerial perspective, with Phaëthon's figure thrown against the light-filled sky. Tiepolo's handling of the foreshortened horse forms and the swirling drama of the horses' reins shows his early mastery of difficult aerial composition. The warm, golden light of the solar scene is punctuated by cooler passages where the chariot diverges from its ordained path.