Nobility

The fresco representing Nobility must have decorated the ceiling of a relatively small room in the palazzo. Together with the Triumph of the Arts and Sciences, it was one of two Tiepolo frescoes in the palazzo that depicted allegorical figures. Nobility was shown at the center of the ceiling, seated on a cloud, with her customary attributes, as prescribed in Cesare Ripa’s influential book of symbols, the Iconologia (first published in 1603): a lance in her right hand and a small statue of Minerva in her left. It is unclear how this allegory of Nobility related to the function of the room it decorated. No preparatory works by Tiepolo survive that are related to this fresco.