# Nuptial Allegory [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista]() - Date: 1701-1750 - Technique: Fresco ## Commentary The subject of the fresco on the ceiling of the Room of Nuptial Allegory is specifically tied to the event which led to the commission: the marriage of Ludovico Rezzonico and Faustina Savorgnan in 1758. Against the radiant sky that opens up beyond the faux balustrade painted by Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna, four impetuous gray horses pull Apollo's chariot, which carries the betrothed couple, the god of light stands behind them. Cupid, blindfolded and bearing a torch, flies next to the chariot. Allegorical figures of the virtues, alluding to the couple's fortunate destiny, circle the scene. These include Fame, blowing a trumpet; the Three Graces, seated on a cloud just beneath Apollo's chariot; and Prudence, to whom flying putti bring a mirror. Beneath the cornice, on a large dark cloud, is an elderly bearded man wearing a laurel wreath. A representation of Merit, he holds a banner with the juxtaposed coats of arms of the two families. Next to him is a lion, symbol of Venice. ## Related artworks - [A Seated Man and a Girl with a Pitcher]() - [Abraham and the Three Angels]() - [Abraham Praying before the Three Angels]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Aeneas Introducing Cupid Dressed as Ascanius to Dido \(detail\)]() - [Aeneas Introducing Cupid Dressed as Ascanius to Dido \(detail\)]() - [Aeneas Introducing Cupid Dressed as Ascanius to Dido]() - [Aeneas Introducing Cupid Dressed as Ascanius to Dido]() - [Allegory of Merit Accompanied by Nobility and Virtue \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Merit Accompanied by Nobility and Virtue \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Merit Accompanied by Nobility and Virtue]() - [Allegory of Merit Accompanied by Nobility and Virtue]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()