GHERARDI, Filippo

Esther, the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes), and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jews throughout the empire. The massacre had been plotted by the king’s chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots (purim). Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai; and on the day planned for their annihilation, the Jews destroyed their enemies.

The painting was executed in collaboration with Giovanni Coli.

The picture shows a narrative scene at the east end of the vault of the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. It depicts the Session of the Venetian Senate under the Chairmanship of the Doge. The scene belongs to the cycle on the ceiling illustrating decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.

The cycle is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The picture shows a narrative scene at the west end of the vault of the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. It depicts the Erection of the Commemorative Statue of Marcantonio Colonna on the Capitol. The scene belongs to the cycle on the ceiling illustrating decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.

The cycle is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The picture shows the central ceiling panel in the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. It depicts Marcantonio Colonna and the Sea Battle at Lepanto. The scene belongs to the cycle on the ceiling illustrating decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.

The cycle is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The picture shows an oval ceiling panel in the east end section of the vault of the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. It depicts The Transfer of Command by Pope Pius V. The scene belongs to the cycle on the ceiling illustrating decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.

The cycle is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The picture shows an oval ceiling panel in the west end section of the vault of the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. It depicts the Allegorical Triumph of the Hero. The scene belongs to the cycle on the ceiling illustrating decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.

The cycle is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi, two painters from Lucca in Tuscany, painted the canvases that decorate the ceiling of the library of San Giorgio Maggiore. The original design of the convent was by Andrea Palladio, but it was completed by Baldassare Longhena with the help of the two Tuscan artists; consequently it combines Renaissance classicism with a monumental Baroque style.

The picture shows vault border scenes (trophies, weapons, armour, standards, and groups of Oriental figures) in the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. They are part of the splendidly colourful decoration of the gallery, in which heraldic, ornamental, and figural motifs combine to create a dizzying spectacle.

The narrative cycle on the ceiling is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The picture shows vault border scenes (trophies, weapons, armour, standards, and groups of Oriental figures) in the Grande Galleria in the Palazzo Colonna. They are part of the splendidly colourful decoration of the gallery, in which heraldic, ornamental, and figural motifs combine to create a dizzying spectacle.

The narrative cycle on the ceiling is a collective work by Filippo Gherardi and Giovanni Coli, the architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop.

The powerful Colonna family had lived on the western slope of the Quirinale in Rome since the Middle Ages. Over the years it managed to link together the various houses it had built and purchased over time into a unified ensemble of palaces, courtyards, and gardens. In the seventeenth century, the art-loving cardinal Girolamo I Colonna (1604-1666) began turning the complex into a Baroque residence. Construction began in 1650. The south wing, containing the Grande Galleria, was built between 1661 and 1700 at the behest of the cardinal’s nephew Lorenzo Onofrio (1637-1689).

The most important room in the palace is the gallery (Grande Galleria) on the second floor of the south wing. It is more than a story and a half in height, and it receives light from both sides. It has two separate anterooms, marked off from the main space by pairs of columns. These extensions and the wall arrangements of the room with large pilasters produced the most magnificent secular space from the Roman Baroque.

The painting of the gallery was begun in 1665 and lasted until 1685. The pictorial program unfolds in the vaults of the trio of rooms and it is supplemented to this day with the original statues, paintings, and elaborate furnishings. The architecture painting and framing is by Johann Paul Schor and his workshop, the narrative cycle on Marcantonio II Colonna is by Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi, two painters from Lucca working as an inseparable team. The scenes on the ceiling illustrate decisive events from the military career of Marcantonio II Colonna (1535-1584). In its form and composition the narrative cycle borrows from sixteenth-century Venetian painting, which beginning with Veronese had specialised in depictions on ceilings of historical events viewed from extremely low vantage points.