Würzburg in Vicenza

The sons of famous parents have never had it easy. The gravestone of Goethe’s son Walther bears the inscription ‘Goethe filius’, but no first name. Until now, Giandomenico Tiepolo, too, has remained in the shadow of his famous father, Giambattista.

Admittedly, Giandomenico is better known in art history than the younger Goethe is in literary history. It is well known that Tiepolo senior and junior collaborated on the frescoes in the Würzburg Residence between 1750 and 1753. Yet hardly anyone has so far considered the possibility that Giandomenico might have left his mark there.

Here, the exhibition ‘Giandomenico Tiepolo – A New World’, which has been on display at the Gallerie d’Italia in Vicenza since Friday 9 October 2026, offers a significant re-evaluation. For the first time, Giandomenico is presented as an artist who, whilst still in Würzburg – in his mid-twenties – was inundated with commissions and developed an independent visual language.

In the exhibition, this shift in perspective is illustrated not only by paintings and prints, but also by five drawings on loan to Vicenza from the Martin von Wagner Museum (MvWM). These – along with a wealth of other works by Giandomenico on paper – were originally part of Martin von Wagner’s collection, which he donated to the University of Würzburg in 1857.

This makes the MvWM the lender with the most exhibits – a fact that was emphasised several times at the opening. The University Museum fulfils this prominent role as the sole ‘partner’ of the Vicenza exhibition – an honorary title that sets it apart from other lenders such as the Prado or the Louvre.

In his welcoming address, Damian Dombrowski, Director of the Picture Gallery and the Graphic Arts Collection, spoke of Giandomenico having long been neglected, even by the MvWM. However, he noted that this situation has fundamentally changed over the last two decades. The museum’s strength in research had been decisive in this regard.

For instance, a 2009 doctoral thesis on the so-called ‘Tiepolo sketchbooks’ developed, for the first time, rigorous stylistic criteria to distinguish the drawing style in Giandomenico’s Würzburg works not only from that of his father, but also from that of other members of the workshop. In its Tiepolo exhibition in 2020/21, the MvWM took this distinction into account for the first time and recognised Giandomenico’s independence even during his years in Würzburg.

‘Pulcinella – Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo between Comedy and the Abyss’ was the title of the temporary installation presented by the MvWM at the Mozartfest 2025. Never before had the younger Tiepolo been mentioned on an equal footing with his father in Würzburg, Dombrowski emphasised in his welcoming address at the Vicenza exhibition. The professor of art history, who also contributed an essay to the exhibition catalogue, summed up by stating: “For some time now, many threads have been converging on Giandomenico in Würzburg.”

Dombrowski further promised that research at the MvWM into this artist’s years in Würzburg would be stepped up – focusing not only on his numerous easel paintings created at the prince-bishop’s court, but also on Giandomenico’s contribution to the frescoes, for which only his father’s name has been cited to date.

The exhibition “Giandomenico Tiepolo – un mondo nuovo” is on display at the Gallerie d’Italia in Vicenza until 17 January 2027. The exhibition catalogue costs 35 euros.