À la recherche de Proserpine : la loggia du palais épiscopal de Bagnaia au temps du cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi (1541-1550)
Located on the border between Tuscany and northern Lazio, Bagnaia has been an ideal holiday resort for the most eminent members of the Roman Curia throughout the whole 16th century. For this reason, this small village of Tuscia became from the 1540s an important political and artistic center. Several studies have focused on the Villa Lante and its famous gardens, whereas the Episcopal Palace – better known as the “Loggia Palace” – has been ignored by scholars for a long time. This dissertation proposes, for the first time, a thorough study of the exceptional decoration of this spacious loggia, built between 1541 and 1548 for the Florentine cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi, Lorenzo de' Medici's grandson. The analysis of style allows first to review an incorrect attribution, as well as to formulate new hypotheses about the authors of the painting cycle, of which all scenes have been identified and deciphered. The mythological cycle is dedicated to the story of Ceres, goddess of agriculture. The decorative system is admirable for originality and erudition, and interacts with the two fountains situated in the loggia, representing the rivers Arno and Tiber. Finally, this dissertation gives a detailed reading of the pagan iconography in the cultural and religious context of Cardinal Ridolfi's court.
Bagnaia Grotesques Loggia Agriculture Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi Grotesque Aeneas Counter-Reformation Italian Renaissance art Grottesche Enea