Tiepolo in Udine
The Tiepolo Gallery in the Patriarchal Palace
Udine is one of the best places in the world to discover the art of Giambattista Tiepolo, the great Venetian painter of the eighteenth century, master of light, colour and illusionistic spaces, who later decorated the Würzburg Residence and the Royal Palace of Madrid. Between 1726 and 1729, when he was about thirty years old, Tiepolo was called to Udine by the patriarch of Aquileia, Dionisio Dolfin, to decorate his residence, the Palazzo Patriarcale, and here he created one of his early masterpieces, which marked a turning point in his career. Today the palace houses the Museo Diocesano e Gallerie del Tiepolo, where visitors can admire these frescoes in their original setting.
The most famous room is the Galleria degli Ospiti, the Gallery of Guests, a long hall whose walls are decorated with stories from the Old Testament, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, among them the "Apparition of the Angels to Abraham" and "Rachel hiding the idols", painted with bright colours, luminous skies and figures dressed in sumptuous Venetian costumes. In the Sala Rossa, the Red Room, the ceiling depicts the "Judgement of Solomon", and on the ceiling of the grand staircase the "Fall of the Rebel Angels" is shown. The palace also preserves a precious library and collections of sacred art. Tiepolo also left works in other places in Udine, such as the Cathedral, where he painted the altarpieces and frescoes of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, and the Oratorio della Purità, with a ceiling depicting the Assumption.
Tip: visit the Gallerie del Tiepolo in the morning; buy the combined ticket that includes the Oratorio della Purità.
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