Armida Encounters the Sleeping Rinaldo
1742/45
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
187.5 × 216.8 cm (73 13/16 × 85 3/8 in.); Framed: 194.8 × 223.5 × 8.3 cm (76 1/2 × 88 × 3 1/4 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16488
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This painting likely once graced a large hall at the Palazzo Corner in Venice along with several others. The suite illustrates the ill-fated love of Armida and Rinaldo from Torquato Tasso’s 1581 epic poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). The story takes place during the First Crusade, an eleventh-century military expedition in which Christian knights attempted to seize control of Jerusalem and check the power of the Muslims who ruled the city. In this scene, the beautiful sorceress Ar...
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's *Armida Encounters the Sleepinginaldo* (1742/45) captures a pivotal moment from Torquatoasso's epic poem *Jerusalem Delivered*. The sorceress Armida, sent to distract the Crusader knights, discovers the enchanted knight Rinaldo asleep amid a lush, dreamlike garden. Mesmerized by his beauty, she contemplates her forbidden love, a theme blending romance, magic, and moral tension that captivated 18th-century audiences. ed in oil on canvas at a grand 187.5 × 216.8 cm, this work exemplifies Tiepolo's mastery of Venetian Rococo. From his mature period in Venice, it showcases his signature swirling compositions, vibrant colors, and dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, creating an illusion of movement and ethereal depth. Tiepolo's loose, fluid brushwork evokes fresco-like grandeur, ideal for palatial interiors where such mythological scenes adorned walls of the nobility. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Painting and Sculpture of Europe, this canvas highlights Tiepolo's influence across Europe, bridging Baroque drama with Rococo elegance. It invites viewers to ponder love's transformative power, a timeless motif rendered with Tiepolo's joyful exuberance.
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · 1696–1770
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, a Venetian master whose luminous frescoes and dynamic compositions defined the Rococo era's aesthetic zenith. Born in Venice on March 5, 1696, to a modest shipping merchant family, Tiepolo's extraordinary talent transcended his humble origins to establish him as the most sought-after artis...