Centaur Arrested in Flight, a Female Faun on His Back c. 1759 - 1791

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo made this pen and wash drawing, Centaur Arrested in Flight, a Female Faun on His Back, in the 18th century. Tiepolo, an Italian painter from Venice, came from a family of artists and this is clear in his confident and precise lines. The piece depicts a scene of mythological chaos, a centaur captured mid-gallop with a female faun clinging to his back. The centaur, typically a symbol of wildness and untamed nature, is caught in a moment of forced submission. The faun, another figure associated with nature, appears almost as a captive herself. It is interesting to consider the way Tiepolo plays with power dynamics here, especially within the context of 18th-century social hierarchies. Tiepolo’s choice to represent these mythological beings frozen in a moment of subjugation speaks to broader themes of control and resistance. In an era defined by strict social norms and hierarchies, the image prompts us to consider who is being restrained, and at what cost. The emotional tension of the piece underscores the struggle for agency within societal constraints.