1744
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Rinaldo and the Magus of Ascalon is a 1744 oil by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Baroque work, depicting Aeneas, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
A knight in shiny armor stands on a rocky shore while an old man holds up a glowing shield. Behind them, a boat bobs on dark waves under a stormy sky. This painting wraps up a four-part story about the knight Rinaldo. The magician shows him visions of his ancestors in the shield—not with magic, but with quick, loose brushstrokes that make the reflections shimmer. Tiepolo painted it fast, so the colors feel alive, not stiff. If you like how light dances here, look up *glazing*.
The fourth and final large narrative canvas from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s decorative suite stresses the moral of the story and takes place as Rinaldo rejoins the crusader army. The boat bringing the knight from Armida’s island has just deposited him on the coast of Palestine. The magician of Ascalon uses Rinaldo’s shield to conjure the heroic deeds of his ancestors, urging him to live up to their legacy. In contrast to earlier canvases in the sequence, the young knight appears focused on his mission. In his choice to return to battle, the figure of Rinaldo would have served as a positive…
Possibly one of four scenes from Tasso made for the 'gabinetto degli specchi' of the Palazzo Corner a San Polo, Venice [according to inventories and other documents discussed by Romanelli 1998]. Count Giovanni Serbelloni, Venice in 1838; by descent, until possibly 1886 [Molmenti 1911 and Knox 1978]. Giulio Cartier, Genoa by 1908 [Malaquzzi Valeri 1908]; Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, in 1912 [Ojetti 1912]; James Deering (d. 1925), Vizcaya, from 1913 [information sheet in curatorial file]; bequeathed, 1925.
Art Institute of Chicago, Century of Progress, June 1 – November 1, 1933, no. 159. Art Institute of Chicago, Century of Progress, June 1 – November 1, 1934, no. 337. Art Institute of Chicago, Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by the two Tiepolos, February 4 – March 6, 1938, no. 9. Udine, Villa Manin di Passariano, Mostra del Tiepolo, June 27 – October 31, 1971, no. 61. Venice, Ca' Rezzonico, Giambattista Tiepolo, September 5-December 15, 1996, cat. 17d; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 24 – April 27, 1997.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
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