Allegorical Portrait of a Young Woman as Flora

Oil on canvas

60.5 x 51 cm

The beautiful anonymous woman looks out of the painting and at the viewer with a smile in her eyes and the corners of her mouth. She may be one of the artist's sisters. It was not uncommon for Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo to paint their own family members in historical costume to capture them in a lasting memento. It is likely that the young woman here symbolises spring. This is suggested by the lavish, colourful bunch of flowers that almost overpowers the blue beret. It is possible that the portrait is the first in a series of paintings representing the seasons. The father, Giambattista Tiepolo, created a related series in 1760 for the Russian tsarina.

Giandomenico Tiepolo was born in Venice in 1727 where he died in 1804.