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The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy

1760s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 643
From 1762 until his death, Tiepolo worked in Spain for Charles III and decorated several rooms in Madrid’s royal palace. This is one of two complex sketches in The Met collection for a small chamber next to the throne room. Each shows a female personification of Spain accompanied by lions representing the province of Leon; an old woman beside a castle, standing for the province of Castile; and Hercules, the traditional protector of Spain. He is shown with a column symbolizing Gibraltar, a strategic site in struggles for control of the Mediterranean Sea. Tiepolo set Spain in a global context by including allegorical figures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy
  • Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1696–1770 Madrid)
  • Date: 1760s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: Oval painted surface, 32 1/8 x 26 1/8 in. (81.6 x 66.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1937
  • Object Number: 37.165.3
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Oil on canvas
The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1760s
Adoration of the Magi, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Etching
Adoration of the Magi
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
ca. 1753 (?)
Half-dressed Nymph with two children, surrounded by four men, from the Scherzi, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Etching
Half-dressed Nymph with two children, surrounded by four men, from the Scherzi
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
ca. 1743–50
St. Joseph with the Child Jesus
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
The Family of the oriental Peasant, from the Scherzi, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, Etching
The Family of the oriental Peasant, from the Scherzi
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
ca. 1740

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