Artwork
The Capture of Carthage
The Capture of Carthage is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. It dates from 1725 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A chaotic battle: a rider leads the charge with a flag and spear while soldiers fight on foot, some falling to the ground. A city and distant landscape stretch beneath a dramatic sky. Tiepolo pushed strong contrasts of dark and light to make the figures leap forward and pull the eye to the action. Painted in 1725.
Technique & Style
The Capture of Carthage is executed in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with Tiepolo's Venetian practice of the period.
The Capture of Carthage is executed in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with Tiepolo's Venetian practice of the period. The support measures 411.5 cm in height by 376.9 cm in width, an imposing scale suited to its ambitious narrative composition. Stylistically the work belongs to the Rococo movement, reflecting Tiepolo's characteristic handling of dynamic figural groupings, equestrian elements, and theatrical battle scenes. The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
The Capture of Carthage was executed in 1725 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in oil on canvas. The painting measures 411.5 by 376.9 cm and belongs to the Rococo movement. No commission record is documented in the available sources.
The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it forms part of the museum's holdings of Tiepolo's work. No prior exhibition history at other institutions is recorded.
Overview
The Capture of Carthage is an oil painting created by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in 1725. This large-scale work is currently housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It exemplifies the artist's early eighteenth-century style and his engagement with historical and dramatic subjects, characteristic of the period's grand narrative painting.
Subject & Meaning
The painting vividly portrays a tumultuous battle scene, likely depicting a historical or legendary military engagement. A central figure on horseback, brandishing a flag and spear, leads the charge amidst a chaotic melee of foot soldiers. Figures fall and clash in the foreground, while a fortified city and a sweeping landscape under a dramatic sky form the backdrop, emphasizing the scale of the conflict.
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Artist & collection
Artist
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.
