Hotspur🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 on Nostr: "The Death of Hyacinthus," Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752-53. I once heard Rococo as ...

"The Death of Hyacinthus," Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752-53.

I once heard Rococo as "Baroque being frivolous" and while this painting is pretty tragic, it's also unintentionally funny.

Tiepolo (1696-1770) was a prolific Venetian painter who also worked in Spain and Germany, with examples of his art being found all over the place. After his death, the rise of severe Neoclassicism meant his style was no longer in vogue, but today he's regarded as an exceptional decorative painter, perhaps not of great depth, but with exceptional technique.

Here we have a scene from Greek myth. Apollo loved the beautiful youth Hyacinthus, and one day, while playing with a discus, either Hyacinthus botched a throw, or Apollo botched a throw, or an errant wind from a jealous Zephyrus caused the discus to hit Hyacinthus, killing him. Apollo, in his grief, turned him into the hyacinth flower, which we see in the lower right corner...next to a tennis racket. Yup, in this painting they were playing tennis! Supposedly a translation of Ovid of the time changed "discus" to "tennis" which seems bizarre today.

From the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

#Art #GiovanniBattistaTiepolo #Rococo #Mythology #HyacinthusPlayingTennis