Aurora and Apollo on the Chariot of the Sun

For bedroom ceilings the typical Baroque depiction was that of Aurora. However, Aurora, who as the forerunner of the sun-chariot heralds the day, managed to free herself from this limited private sphere and became - thanks to Guido Reni’s Aurora in the Casino Pallavicini - an allegory, ambiguous and applicable in many contexts, of ascent, new beginnings, or triumph over the powers of darkness, impressively staged by Guercino in the Casino Ludovisi and by Giuseppe Chiari in the Palazzo Barberini.