Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Self Portrait of Giambattista Tiepolo (1752–53), detail from the Residenz Würzburg ceiling frescoes

The Immaculate Conception (1767–68) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the Prado, Madrid, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the Prado)

The largest ceiling fresco in the world (1752–53), in the Residenz Würzburg, Germany, by Giambattista Tiepolo, at 600 square meters (6458 square feet), Tiepolo, General (Photo by Myriam Thyes)

Detail of the largest ceiling fresco in the world (1752–53), in the Residenz Würzburg, Germany, by Giambattista Tiepolo, at 600 square meters (6458 square feet), Tiepolo, General (Photo by Myriam Thyes)

Young Woman with a Macaw (1760) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum)

The Marriage of the Emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa to Beatrice of Burgundy (1751) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the Residenz Würzburg, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the Residenz Würzburg)

Apollo Pursuing Daphne (1755/60) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art)

Scipio Africanus Freeing Massiva (1719–21) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the Walters Art Museum)

Apotheosis of the Spanish Royal Family (1762–66) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the Royal Palace, Madrid, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the Royal Palace)

The Banquet of Cleopatra (1743–44) by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Tiepolo, General (Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria)

By a long shot the best Italian rococo painter

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)—a.k.a. Giambattista Tiepolo—was the best Rococo artist there was, influenced by his Venetian Late Renaissance predecessors but also the Roman and Neapolitan Baroque.

His specialty was painting ceiling frescoes (and canvases meant to be placed in a ceiling) that opened up the space into frothy, cloud-filled Heavens of light, angels, and pale, sun-risey colors.

Though he painted many works for Veneto villas in his native Italy, he also spent much of his time traveling throughout Europe on long commissions (his work in Würzburg, Germany enjoys distinction as the largest ceiling fresco in the world).

His son Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804) carried on the family tradition.