Artwork
Dawn
Dawn is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Gaspare Diziani. It dates from 1738 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the personification of Dawn, accompanied by a putto.
The painting depicts the personification of Dawn, accompanied by a putto. The figure of Dawn represents the break of day, a common allegorical subject in Baroque and Rococo art that typically symbolizes renewal, hope, and the triumph of light over darkness. The inclusion of a putto reinforces the celestial and divine connotations of the scene, as winged infant figures were traditionally associated with the divine realm and served as attendants to personified natural phenomena.
Technique & Style
Dawn is an oil painting executed on canvas by Gaspare Diziani in 1738. The work measures 198.1 cm in height by 240 cm in width, a large-scale format suited to its allegorical subject of dawn personified alongside a putto. The classification of the object as a painting, combined with the oil-on-canvas support, situates it within the standard Venetian practice of the period, in which oil paint was applied to woven canvas to achieve both rich coloration and the durability needed for large compositions.
Stylistically, the canvas's dimensions and subject, a personification of dawn accompanied by a winged child figure, are consistent with Diziani's known output of decorative allegorical paintings produced for aristocratic patrons in the eighteenth century. The combination of oil medium and canvas support allowed for the fluid handling and luminous tonal effects typical of the Venetian Rococo tradition.
History & Provenance
Dawn is an oil painting by Gaspare Diziani, created in 1738 as an oil on canvas measuring 198.1 cm by 240 cm.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the work in its collection, where it is exhibited as part of its European paintings galleries.
The composition portrays a putto heralding the sunrise, reinforcing the iconographic theme of dawn.
Its presence in the museum marks a documented transfer of ownership from the artist’s studio to institutional custody.
The documented date of 1738 appears in the museum’s catalog and matches the artist’s dated records.
Gaspare Diziani's painting Dawn, created in 1738, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is executed in oil on canvas and measures 198.1 cm in height and 240 cm in width. It depicts the allegorical figure of Dawn accompanied by a putto.
The provided sources do not contain specific accession numbers, inventory details, or a record of the artwork's exhibition history.
Overview
Gaspare Diziani's Dawn, painted in oil in 1738, exemplifies the Rococo movement. This painting captures a celestial scene, portraying the personification of dawn accompanied by playful putti amidst a luminous sky. The work reflects Diziani's activity primarily in Venice and is part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Gaspare Diziani (1689 – 17 August 1767) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Roccoco period, active mainly in the Republic of Venice but also in Dresden and Munich.
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