Glorification of the Widmann Family 1750 - 1760

Gaspare Diziani’s pen and wash drawing depicts the Glorification of the Widmann Family. In it, Diziani employs familiar visual codes to ennoble this aristocratic family, who resided in Venice during the 18th century. Here, the Widmann family is raised to the heavens, their ascent facilitated by angels and putti bearing crowns and palm fronds representing victory. Below, an allegorical figure reclines amidst clouds, a lion by his side, likely symbolizing Venice itself and the earthly domain that the Widmanns have transcended. The drawing’s composition, with figures floating upwards, makes clear that it was likely made as a sketch for a ceiling decoration in one of the Widmann family’s palatial homes. For Venetian noble families, art served as an important means of conveying their power. By commissioning artwork that depicted their lineage in heavenly terms, families like the Widmanns shored up their own status, suggesting that their earthly power was divinely ordained. Art historians use resources like family trees, architectural studies, and inventories to understand how art served specific social functions in its own time.