GUALTIERO PADOVANO

This detail of the ceiling of the loggia depicts Flora and Mercury.

This detail of the frescoes in the Hall of the Caesars shows a landscape, framed by large, arched faux window. It is clearly influenced by Flemish painting.

This picture shows a detail of one of the landscapes in the Hall of the Caesars.

This detail of the frescoes in the Hall of the Gods shows Apollo, a faux door and decoration above the door with grotesques.

This picture shows a detail of monochrome painting above the door.

This detail of the frescoes in the Hall of the Triumphs shows Telamon figures and an attendant drawing aside the curtain of a faux door.

The picture shows a detail of the monochrome frieze embellished with scenes of ancient triumphs.

The picture shows a detail of the monochrome frieze embellished with scenes of ancient triumphs.

This detail of the frescoes in the Hall of the Triumphs shows a landscape with the Ideal View of Rhodes (with the Colossus of Rhodes).

This detail showa the Colossus of Rhodes.

Girolamo Godi, organizer of a Vicenzan literary salon and friend of Pietro Bembo and Alvise Cornaro, engaged Gualtiero around 1550 to decorate the villa. In addition to the loggia, the decoration of four rooms in the right wing of the villa can be ascribed to Gualtiero: the Hall of the Gods or the Putto, the Hall of the Triumphs, the Hall of the Caesars, and the Hall of the Sacrifices. Gualtiero’s sudden death in 1552 prevented him from completing the work which was taken over by Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro, who created the frescoes in the other rooms.

The Hall of the Caesars owes its name to the busts of Roman emperors, painted to imitate bronzes, located above the doors inside faux frames that are richly decorated and inhabited by playful putti. Landscapes, framed by large, arched faux windows, punctuate the long walls. The landscapes are clearly influenced by Flemish painting.

Girolamo Godi, organizer of a Vicenzan literary salon and friend of Pietro Bembo and Alvise Cornaro, engaged Gualtiero around 1550 to decorate the villa. In addition to the loggia, the decoration of four rooms in the right wing of the villa can be ascribed to Gualtiero: the Hall of the Gods or the Putto, the Hall of the Triumphs, the Hall of the Caesars, and the Hall of the Sacrifices. Gualtiero’s sudden death in 1552 prevented him from completing the work which was taken over by Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro, who created the frescoes in the other rooms.

Gualtiero worked with Lambert Sustris at the Villa dei Vescovi in Luvigliano in 1542-43, at the Villa Godi he revived compositional and decorative solutions that had already been tried out in that context. The Hall of the Gods was the first to be completed and the decoration shows striking similarities to the Luvigliano prototype. The ionic columns support architraves decorated with friezes inhabited by mythological deities. Remarkable is the presence of a child, who is seated in an illusory window that opens onto an idyllic landscape.

Girolamo Godi, organizer of a Vicenzan literary salon and friend of Pietro Bembo and Alvise Cornaro, engaged Gualtiero around 1550 to decorate the villa. In addition to the loggia, the decoration of four rooms in the right wing of the villa can be ascribed to Gualtiero: the Hall of the Gods or the Putto, the Hall of the Triumphs, the Hall of the Caesars, and the Hall of the Sacrifices. Gualtiero’s sudden death in 1552 prevented him from completing the work which was taken over by Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro, who created the frescoes in the other rooms.

In the Hall of the Sacrifices allegorical figures ornament the walls. The figure with elongated limbs shows the influence of Parmigianino.

Girolamo Godi, organizer of a Vicenzan literary salon and friend of Pietro Bembo and Alvise Cornaro, engaged Gualtiero around 1550 to decorate the villa. In addition to the loggia, the decoration of four rooms in the right wing of the villa can be ascribed to Gualtiero: the Hall of the Gods or the Putto, the Hall of the Triumphs, the Hall of the Caesars, and the Hall of the Sacrifices. Gualtiero’s sudden death in 1552 prevented him from completing the work which was taken over by Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro, who created the frescoes in the other rooms.

Along the vertical surfaces of the Hall of the Triumphs, Gualtiero distributed imposing Telamon figures, connected by faux festoons of greenery and fruit. The figures illusionistically support a monochrome frieze embellished with scenes of ancient triumphs. The classical figure of Securitas on the fireplace hood seems to be traced from an ancient Roman coin.