Published to coincide with an exhibition in Venice and New York to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Italian 18th-century painter, Giambattista Tiepolo, this study explores the various aspects of his work. Essays by eight American and European authorities illuminate his development: his mastery of mythological and poetic subjects; his deeply moving religious pictures; and his rare excursions into portraiture and studies of the ideal head. It also describes a prominent feature of Tiepolo's work; his method of progression from initial ideas - realized in dazzling small-scale oil sketches - to large canvases and frescoes. Written for the scholar and general reader alike, the text is supported by illustrations of Tiepolo's works and those of his predecessors and contemporaries.