Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, one of Venice’s most original painters and printmakers, was born on 30th August, 1727.
Known as Giandomenico Tiepolo, he was the eldest son of the celebrated Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Like his father, he became a prolific artist, yet he developed a distinct style that blended everyday Venetian life with satire and theatrical flair.
By the age of 13, Giandomenico was already his father’s main assistant. Together they worked on major commissions across Europe, including frescoes at the Würzburg Residenz in Germany, the Villa Valmarana ai Nani in Vicenza, and the Royal Palace in Madrid.
After his father’s death in Spain in 1770, Giandomenico returned to Venice, where his art moved away from grand Baroque ceilings to more intimate scenes. He produced vivid depictions of Venetian festivals, aristocratic gatherings, and the daily lives of ordinary people, characterised by lively colour and movement.
Series of works on Pulcinella
His most enduring creation was his series of works on Pulcinella, the comic, hunchbacked character of the commedia dell’arte, later transformed into the English Punch. Giandomenico created more than 100 drawings and frescoes of Pulcinella, often mocking social pretensions while delighting children. These works, painted between 1759 and 1797 for the family villa at Zianigo, reflect his wit and playful spirit. The frescoes were later transferred to Ca’ Rezzonico on the Grand Canal, where they remain.
Beyond Pulcinella, Giandomenico also undertook significant religious commissions. His Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) cycle, housed in the Oratory of the Crucifix at San Polo in Venice, demonstrates his ability to balance devotion with artistic vitality.
As a printmaker, he produced etchings that reinterpreted both his own paintings and those of his father, helping spread Venetian art beyond Italy. His works are in major collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum.
Giandomenico Tiepolo died in Venice in 1804 at the age of 76.
