Cupid Blindfolded in the Clouds, with Five Attendant Putti 1767 - 1793

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo made this pen and wash drawing of Cupid and his helpers sometime in the 18th century. But, who was Tiepolo, and why did he choose to depict these figures? Tiepolo belonged to one of the most celebrated families of painters in Venice, a city which, in the 1700s, was beginning to decline as a center of political and economic power. The Venetian ruling class turned instead to pleasure and the arts, and artists like Tiepolo and his father decorated their palaces and churches with fanciful scenes drawn from classical mythology. Here, Cupid, the god of love, is blindfolded, perhaps suggesting that love is irrational or uncontrollable. Around him, other putti play and frolic among the clouds. To understand Tiepolo's intentions more fully, we might look to the cultural history of Venice or the biographies of his wealthy patrons. What can these sources tell us about the purpose and meaning of Tiepolo's art?