The Death of Hyacinthus by Giovanni BattistaTiepolo
The Death of Hyacinthus by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was probably commissioned by Baron Wilhelm Friedrich Schaumburg-Lippe. The baron lived in Bückeburg, near Wurzburg, where Giovanni Battista had been working on the decoration of the palace of Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenclau with his sons Giovanni Domenico and Lorenzo since 1750. The painting appears to be autobiographical and elegiac, as the baron is thought to have commissioned it from Tiepolo a year after the death of his lover, a young Spanish musician who had passed away in 1751 and with whom he had had a passionate affair.
On occasion on the 25th anniversary of the museum, the painting was restored and a technical study was carried out. The painting was in a special display at room 17 of the museum from the 23rd June 2017 until 14th January 2018 together with X-radiographs and infrared reflectographs and other technical material. Also on display were two drawings by Tiepolo loaned by the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart. The installation has been devised and created by the Departments of Restoration and Old Masters Painting.
With the collaboration of :
