Home

Works of Art

 

Works of Art

European Paintings: All

Work 52 of 2,430
Add to my Met GalleryAdd to My Met Gallery PrintPrint List ViewList View

This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
* This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venetian, 1696–1770)
The Investiture of Bishop Harold as Duke of Franconia
ca. 1751–52
Oil on canvas
28 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. (71.8 x 51.4 cm)
Purchase, 1871
71.121
The picture shows Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa investing Harold of Hochheim, Bishop of Würzburg, with the dukedom of Franconia. The event occurred in 1168, but Tiepolo has envisaged it as a Baroque ceremony.

The picture is a preparatory study for one of the frescoes in the vault of the Kaisersaal (dining room) of the Residenz (the Prince-Bishop's Palace) in Würzburg. The cycle was carried out in 1751–52. The final composition shows a number of major changes and is contained in a gilt stucco surrounded with painted plaster curtains.