View of the left wall

mythological

The sixteenth century lacks almost entirely what accounted for a large part of secular decorations of the fifteenth century, namely the depiction of aristocratic society's pastimes: hunting, gambling, banquets, dances and concerts. There are scenes of such activities in the Villa Caldogno and several other villas in the Veneto, but few other comparable examples. When such themes were treated, they were typically either part of a cycle devoted to historical events of the recent past or dressed in antique, mythological, or historical garb.

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About the Artist

Giovanni Antonio Fasolo

1530 – 1572

Italian painter. Of Lombard origin, he was initially a pupil of Paolo Veronese and subsequently had a short but successful career as a fresco and portrait painter in and around Vicenza. In 1551-52 he collaborated with Gian Battista Zelotti and Veronese on frescoes for the Castello Porto-Colleoni, Thiene. Scenes such as the Meeting of Sophonisba and Massinissa are executed in the style of Veronese, but with a noticeably harder and drier edge and lacking Veronese's rich luminosity and effortless control of space. In 1555-56 Fasolo was employed as a minor assistant to Veronese at San Sebastiano, Venice, but emerged in his own right towards the end of the decade (1557-61), when he began producing stage designs for the Accademia Olimpica, Vicenza. In the 1560s he executed frescoes at several country villas: at the Villa Roberto (Brugine, nr Padua; c. 1564-65), the Villa Campiglia (Albettone, nr Vicenza; c. 1565-67) and the Villa Caldogno (Caldogno, nr Vicenza; c. 1568-70). These last (e.g. the Stolen Embrace) are characterized by their contemporary air and informality, reproducing on a large scale the naturalistic tendencies - a possible Lombard inheritance - that underpin his style and become increasingly apparent in his portraiture.

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