Diana and Satyr

1560 · Loggia di Diana, Villa Pallavicino delle Peschiere, Genoa

mythological

The villa owes its fame not only to its architecture and location, but also to a particularly extensive decorative program of frescoes on the piano nobile. The decoration extends through a vestibule, the adjoining large salon (the Salone), two symmetrically adjoining side rooms, and two loggias which at that time opened toward the south. The fresco decoration of the Salone and the loggias are attuned to each other: in the east (Loggia di Apollo), the chariot of the sun god Apollo in the ceiling fresco rides across the sky in the direction of the sunrise, while in the west (Loggia di Diana), the moon goddess Diana leads her team of horses.

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About the Artist

Luca Cambiaso

1527 – 1585

Genoese painter. He was a precocious artist (his highly accomplished frescos in the Doria Palace, now the Prefettura, in Genoa were done in 1544, when he was only 17) and he became the dominating figure in 16th century Genoese painting, running a large and productive workshop. His style derives from Michelangelo in the massiveness of his figures and Correggio in the softness of his modelling, but the use of dry paint and the simplification of forms are his own. The latter is particularly noticeable in his drawings, which often utilize geometrical forms that give them a superficially Cubist look. Another curious instance of antecedence is apparent in his night scenes, which have been claimed as sources for Georges de La Tour, even though it is not clear by what route they could have become known to him. In 1583 Luca accepted an invitation from Philip II of Spain to work on decorations at the Escorial. He died there in 1585 and was succeeded by Federico Zuccaro and then Pellegrino Tibaldi.

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