Wall decoration

1768 · Villa Poggio Imperiale, Arcetri, Florence

mythological

The picture shows the wall decoration in one of the rooms in the south wing of the Villa Poggio Imperiale. The dominant motif of the painted structuring of the walls is a row of Ionic columns, between which are simulated medallions, statues of Vesta, Athena, and Mansuetudo (Clemency), and four reliefs of a classical stamp illustrating values, gifts, and virtues associated with the founding of the Imperium Romanum. The relief above the fireplace in the present picture represents Hercules and Fortuna.

Loading map…

About the Artist

Tommaso Gherardini

1715 – 1797

Italian painter. He was a pupil of Vincenzo Meucci in Florence. He was much appreciated by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo for his neoclassicist taste. In particular he introduced into Florence new types of decoration, the so-called Pompeian style and the fake bas-relief. From the 1740s he participated in the decoration of villas and palaces in Florence and its environment. He painted a hall of the Gallery of the Sufficing and also in the Imperial palace of Vienna. From 1769 to 1777 he painted a series of frescoes in the Villa Doggie Imperial, near Florence, together with Giuliano Traballesi and Giuseppe del Moro.

View all works →