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Divinity and Dynasty at Caprarola: Perfect History in the Room of Farnese Deeds

1978; College Art Association; Volume: 60; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00043079.1978.10787591

1559-6478

Loren Partridge,

Architecture and Art History Studies

This essay is a formal and iconographical analysis of the Room of Farnese Deeds in the Villa Farnese at Caprarola (Figs. 1–3). In the course of the discussion the known documents and drawings will be presented to establish attributions, dates, and authorship of the programme. Heraldry, devices, and allegorical figures are discussed before the historical scenes, because they provide in abstract and compressed form the general framework of ideas within which the histories are viewed. The deeds of the Farnese are examined in the light of the verbal and visual cues offered by the frescoes as well as by other historical evidence. The organization of the scenes and their visual and thematic links to classical antiquity are considered in detail. I have attempted to identify all of the portraits within the scenes and to assess their dynastic and political significance. The article concludes with a discussion of the historiographical context of the frescoes and the relationship between their content and style.