Council of the Gods

Title: Council of the Gods

Artist: Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647) and Domenico Corvi

Date: 1624-25 - Lanfranco

Finished: 1779-1782- Corvi

Medium: Fresco (paint on plaster)

Dimensions: approxametly30feet by 20 feet

Location: Sala della Loggia, Borghese Gallery, Rome, Italy

Source: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/l/lanfranc/council.html

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/baroque-midterm.html

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Lanfranco,_Giovanni_-The_Council_of_Gods_-_1624-25.jpg

Significance of the work:

This work was completed under the patron of Scipione Borghese, the same commissioner for Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. The painting depicts the gods gathered around Jupiter in the heavenly realm. Venus is seen as the nude to the left of Jupiter, and Apollo is next to her dressed for war. The water gods are portrayed at the bottom of the painting holding the typical trident. Hermes is flying in on the right to deliver a message to Jupiter. The room would have been used as a banquet hall with the pope seated beneath Jupiter. The surrounding telamones and Lunnettes represent the rivers of the earth.