One of the most important commissions carried out by Tiepolo in the 1740s was, without a doubt, the decoration of the Palazzo Labia in Venice. The Labia family were of Spanish origin and had only recently joined the Venetian patriciate. Tiepolo's frescoes reflect the family's great desire to create an impression: they are the greatest secular decoration he ever produced in Venice.

The great hall of the palace, which rises up two storeys, is entirely covered by frescoes, which Tiepolo executed in collaboration with Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna, the quadratura specialist. The walls of the room have been opened up by an illusionistic simulated architecture, into which the real doors and windows have been integrated. In this way, a multi-layered system of fictive interior and exterior spaces has been created, supported by a massive architectural framework of multicoloured painted marble. Tiepolo's scenes, The Meeting of Anthony and Cleopatra and The Banquet of Cleopatra, are staged within this illusory architecture, the scenic framework lending them a theatrical character.

Tiepolo's method of representation, characterized by wit and irony, is enriched by many narrative details. Servants, soldiers, musicians and other figures on rostrums and balconies populate the room in so natural a manner, that the viewer begins to doubt whether they belong to Cleopatra's entourage or to the real staff of the palace. The central ceiling fresco depicts The Triumph of Bellerophon over Time, flanked by four monochrome scenes of mythological and allegorical characters.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	View of the ballroom toward the east wall 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1300*962 True Color 231 Kb
	View of the ballrom toward the east wall 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1200*1144 True Color 267 Kb
	View of the ballrom toward the west wall 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1000*1200 True Color 230 Kb
	View of the west wall 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1066*1300 True Color 245 Kb
	The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra 1743-50 Fresco, 650 x 300 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	1067*1300 True Color 239 Kb
	The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra 1743-50 Fresco, 650 x 300 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	840*1109 True Color 180 Kb
	The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra c. 1746 Oil on canvas, 67 x 38 cm National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh	900*1547 True Color 234 Kb
	The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1072*1300 True Color 235 Kb
	View of the east wall 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1061*1300 True Color 243 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra 1743-50 Fresco, 650 x 300 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	1049*1300 True Color 217 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra 1743-50 Fresco, 650 x 300 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	802*1134 True Color 174 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra c. 1746 Oil on canvas, 67 x 41 cm Stockholms Universitet Konstsamling, Stockholm	910*1500 True Color 226 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	706*889 True Color 121 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	707*905 True Color 116 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	708*922 True Color 118 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	710*772 True Color 103 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1200*964 True Color 223 Kb
	The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1063*786 True Color 148 Kb
	Supplemental scene (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	974*1300 True Color 219 Kb
	Supplemental scene (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	950*1276 True Color 237 Kb
	Supplemental scene (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	702*944 True Color 126 Kb
	Supplemental scene (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1002*1200 True Color 235 Kb
	Ceiling decoration 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1005*1300 True Color 240 Kb
	Bellerophon on Pegasus 1743-50 Fresco, diameter c. 600 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	1100*1159 True Color 200 Kb
	Bellerophon on Pegasus 1743-50 Fresco, diameter c. 600 cm Palazzo Labia, Venice	986*1060 True Color 190 Kb
	Bellerophon on Pegasus (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	850*1057 True Color 146 Kb
	Bellerophon on Pegasus (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1043*838 True Color 145 Kb
	The Wind (detail) 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1046*877 True Color 148 Kb
	Side ceiling cartouche 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1000*1202 True Color 180 Kb
	Nobility Conquering Envy 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	985*1200 True Color 182 Kb
	Nobility Conquering Envy 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1454*900 True Color 202 Kb
	Pluto Abducting Persephone. 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	1487*900 True Color 215 Kb
	Pluto Abducting Persephone 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	988*1200 True Color 172 Kb
	Side ceiling cartouche 1743-50 Fresco Palazzo Labia, Venice	967*1200 True Color 186 Kb