A Female Allegorical Figure 1740 - 1750

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted this allegorical figure, sometime in the mid-18th century, with oil on canvas. Now, oil paint has a particular capacity, depending on how it's handled. It can be blended to create a complete illusion, or, as we see here, it can be left raw, gestural, even a little crude. Tiepolo has exploited that quality to the hilt. Look at how economically he has described the woman's dress, just a few strokes of white that somehow manage to give a sense of draped fabric. And see how the gold background isn't perfectly even; you can see the marks of the brush. This wasn't carelessness on Tiepolo's part; it was a conscious choice. Remember, this was an era when many artists were employed in the service of the aristocracy. In order to keep up with demand, painters like Tiepolo had workshops of assistants. But here, he seems to be relishing the hands-on qualities of the medium, perhaps as a deliberate reminder that painting, ultimately, is a matter of skillful handling.