Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as one of the greatest Venetian artists, renowned for his extraordinary inventiveness, magical handling of paint, and dynamic, light-filled compositions that seem to defy gravity itself.

Although his childhood was marked by abject poverty, Tiepolo’s fortunes changed when he entered the studio of Gregorio Lazzarini, a placement that led to a dazzling artistic career. By 1732, his work was already sought after by international collectors and, in this year’s Ashley Clarke Memorial Lecture, Professor Catherine Whistler explains how his innate talent and driving ambition brought him fame and wealth, earning him secular and religious commissions not only in Venice but further afield across the Veneto and in Milan, and ultimately in Germany and Spain.

What made Tiepolo extraordinary was not just his output but his vision. The light of Venice was intrinsic to his imaginative world, and his paintings, whether colourful allegories or heavenly apparitions, infused the Baroque tradition he inherited with a new modernity. We learn how such intense creativity emerges also in his graphic work, notably in tonal chalk studies and luminous pen-and-wash drawings, some conceived as independent works of art. Together, they reveal one of the eighteenth century’s most restless and ambitious minds.