The Tempest
Dublin Core
Title
The Tempest
Description
The Tempest was one of the first landscape dominant works of the Venetian Renaissance. The work was commissioned by Gabriele Vendramin, and was completed only a few short years before Giorgione’s early death from the plague [1]. Due to the timing, it serves to represent the culmination of Giorgione's artistic skill and the advanced structure his career led him to develop.
The image can be divided into two halves, one half containing the prominent human figures and the second half focusing on the surrounding landscape. In the front of the painting there is a woman with a baby in her arms feeding from her breasts. She is wearing a shiny white garment over her shoulders but the rest of her body remains exposed. Some analysts have interpreted her as a representation of Eve as a biblical reference [1]. To the right of the woman is a man standing tall with a stave in his right hand. His richly colored clothing design points to his association with the Companions of the Order of the Stocking, an aristocratic society of Venice [2]. However, this male figure is also interpreted as a representation of Adam, in conjunction with the reference to the female figure as Eve. As evident from a first glance, the human figures are only a fraction of the images composition. The top half of the painting is dominated by dark, ominous clouds that fill the entirety of the sky above. A lightning bolt is evident in the middle, as if it was frozen in time, to express the violent nature of the scene. The landscape below is illuminated but heavy shadows and darker shades prove the overcast’s eminence. Dark green trees, shrubs, and grass fill the image from front to back, especially lining the stream of water. Further back into the city are white urban buildings that line the river, and at the very end is a domed temple. This urban complex is believed to allude to either heaven or the city of Padua (which was annexed by Venice after resistance), depending on the viewers interpretation [2]. Furthermore this composition emphasizes the balance between the urban landscape and the natural landscape and moves the viewers through the painting. Lastly, on the tower in the distance is an inscription of the lion of saint mark, a correlation to the Venetian origin and nature of the work.
[1] Campbell, Stephen J. "Giorgione's Tempest, studiolo culture, and the Renaissance Lucretius *," Renaissance Quarterly 56, no. 2 (2003): 299+, Gale Academic OneFile Select, accessed September 28, 2020, https://link-gale-com.proxy.lib.duke.edu/apps/doc/A102659361/EAIM?u=duke_perkins&sid=EAIM&xid=de8b877f.
[2]"The Tempest (1508)." The Tempest, Giorgione: Analysis, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/tempest-giorgione.htm.
The image can be divided into two halves, one half containing the prominent human figures and the second half focusing on the surrounding landscape. In the front of the painting there is a woman with a baby in her arms feeding from her breasts. She is wearing a shiny white garment over her shoulders but the rest of her body remains exposed. Some analysts have interpreted her as a representation of Eve as a biblical reference [1]. To the right of the woman is a man standing tall with a stave in his right hand. His richly colored clothing design points to his association with the Companions of the Order of the Stocking, an aristocratic society of Venice [2]. However, this male figure is also interpreted as a representation of Adam, in conjunction with the reference to the female figure as Eve. As evident from a first glance, the human figures are only a fraction of the images composition. The top half of the painting is dominated by dark, ominous clouds that fill the entirety of the sky above. A lightning bolt is evident in the middle, as if it was frozen in time, to express the violent nature of the scene. The landscape below is illuminated but heavy shadows and darker shades prove the overcast’s eminence. Dark green trees, shrubs, and grass fill the image from front to back, especially lining the stream of water. Further back into the city are white urban buildings that line the river, and at the very end is a domed temple. This urban complex is believed to allude to either heaven or the city of Padua (which was annexed by Venice after resistance), depending on the viewers interpretation [2]. Furthermore this composition emphasizes the balance between the urban landscape and the natural landscape and moves the viewers through the painting. Lastly, on the tower in the distance is an inscription of the lion of saint mark, a correlation to the Venetian origin and nature of the work.
[1] Campbell, Stephen J. "Giorgione's Tempest, studiolo culture, and the Renaissance Lucretius *," Renaissance Quarterly 56, no. 2 (2003): 299+, Gale Academic OneFile Select, accessed September 28, 2020, https://link-gale-com.proxy.lib.duke.edu/apps/doc/A102659361/EAIM?u=duke_perkins&sid=EAIM&xid=de8b877f.
[2]"The Tempest (1508)." The Tempest, Giorgione: Analysis, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/tempest-giorgione.htm.
Creator
Giorgione
Source
Campbell, Stephen J. "Giorgione's Tempest, studiolo culture, and the Renaissance Lucretius *." Renaissance Quarterly 56, no. 2 (2003): 299+. Gale Academic OneFile Select (accessed September 28, 2020). https://link-gale-com.proxy.lib.duke.edu/apps/doc/A102659361/EAIM?u=duke_perkins&sid=EAIM&xid=de8b877f.
Settis, Salvatore. Giorgione's Tempest: Interpreting the Hidden Subject. University of Chicago Press, 1990.
"The Tempest (1508)." The Tempest, Giorgione: Analysis, Meaning. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/tempest-giorgione.htm.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534.
Settis, Salvatore. Giorgione's Tempest: Interpreting the Hidden Subject. University of Chicago Press, 1990.
"The Tempest (1508)." The Tempest, Giorgione: Analysis, Meaning. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/tempest-giorgione.htm.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534.
Publisher
Commissioned by Gabriele Vendramin.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534.
Date
ca. 1510
Contributor
Jackson Huether
Rights
Use of this image is in accordance with the Artstor Terms & Conditions.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534. Data From: Art Images for College Teaching.
Image Source: Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco), Venetian, ca. 1477-1510. ca. 1510. The Tempest. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AHSC_ORPHANS_1071313534. Data From: Art Images for College Teaching.
Format
Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 73.7 cm
Type
Painting
Coverage
Accademia, Venice, Italy
Citation
Giorgione, “The Tempest,” ARTHIST 89S - Visual Culture of Venice - Fall 2020, accessed October 22, 2026, https://venice.dahvc.org/fall-2020/items/show/69.