Detail of Agamemnon, from Minerva Restraining Achilles from Killing Agamemnon 1757

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted this scene, showing a detail of Agamemnon, from Minerva Restraining Achilles from Killing Agamemnon, in the eighteenth century. In this scene, from classical mythology, we see the goddess Minerva intervening to prevent Achilles from attacking Agamemnon. Tiepolo created this scene in the Republic of Venice, a culture steeped in classical learning and in the production of grand decorative schemes that were designed to impress. The setting evokes antique architecture, complete with classical columns. This was a society built on social hierarchy. Paintings like this, with its emphasis on the intervention of divine authority, served to reinforce the authority of those at the top of the social pyramid. These works were often displayed in Palazzos. Art historians can research the patronage of paintings such as this, and can better understand them by seeing them in their original settings. In understanding those contexts, we can come to see the place of art within wider social and institutional structures.