Allegory of the Planets and Continents

Tiepolo presented this ceiling proposal to Würzburg’s prince-bishop on 20 April 1752. Apollo, planetary gods and personifications of continents anticipate the enormous staircase fresco. The canvas preserves a stage when the patron could examine the future ceiling as a single, manageable object.

Horses and figures move across open sky. Their arrangement anticipates a view from below on the residence’s staircase.

Small airborne figures cross the pale centre. Extensive open space allows the ceiling to appear open to the sky.

Reclining figures gather on dark clouds. Changes in light distinguish the peripheral groups from the airy centre.

People and animals crowd the lower edge. Continental personifications use figures and attributes familiar to European allegory.

Painted architectural ornament curves on the right. It would connect imagined space with the staircase’s actual architecture.

Figures and pale sculptural forms fill the upper border. Peripheral groups would surround the viewer beneath the ceiling.

Tiepolo worked in Würzburg with his sons Domenico and Lorenzo from 1750 to 1753. They later travelled to Spain for royal commissions. Such projects required workshop collaboration and agreement with the patron.