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National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

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  • Become a Member

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

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  • Shop
  • Become a Member

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    3. Elissa Bassi
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    Elissa Bassi

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    Two women and a man in front of a column and arch nearly fill this vertical, oval painting. The two women have pale skin with round faces, wide-set eyes, and full pink lips. The woman in the lower left quadrant of the painting sits on a moss-green cushion with her body facing our right almost in profile. Her face turns to us and is tipped up, the eyes cast heavenward and her lips parted. She has blond hair and wears a white gown with a voluminous skirt. A gold and possibly jeweled belt is looped over one shoulder and crosses her torso. Her right hand, closer to us, rests on the pillow and the other is slightly lifted to reach toward or touch the hip of the man to the right. The second woman is behind the first and wears a gold crown tucked into her long brown hair. Her mouth is closed, and her head is tipped slightly back and away so she looks at us from the corners of her heavy-lidded eyes. She wears a low-cut bodice and a buttercup-yellow robe, and one hand rests on the other woman’s shoulder. Dominating the right half of the composition, the clean-shaven man has dark, tan-brown skin. He wears a silver and gold helmet topped with a gold lion and a royal blue plume. His armor is scarlet red, and a lapis-blue cloak wraps across his middle back and over one forearm. He holds a sword in one hand a what looks like a lock of brown hair or fur in the other. He looks down at the first woman with his head tipped toward us so his eyes are hidden by the helmet’s brim. The column and arch behind the trio is pale yellow, and gray clouds, a sliver of blue sky, and the tip of a green tree are visible in the distance to the left.
    Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Scene from Ancient History, c. 1750, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.365

    Scene from Ancient History

    Scene from Ancient History

    Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · c. 1750 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1939.1.365

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