Rinaldo and the Magus of Ascalon
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, 1696–1770)
c. 1742–45
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 182.9 × 188 cm (72 × 74 in.); Framed: 194 × 190.2 × 7.6 cm (76 3/8 × 74 7/8 × 3 in.)
- Culture
- Italy
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Credit line
- Bequest of James Deering
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
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 example of civic duty for the family who commissioned these decorations.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
