Dimensions: support: 1692 x 829 mm frame: 1945 x 1090 x 133 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is Antonio Verrio’s sketch for a ceiling decoration, titled "An Assembly of the Gods." It’s… a lot. My eye doesn't know where to land. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: It's a Baroque whirlwind, isn't it? I feel like I’m gazing up at a dream—or maybe a really crowded party in Olympus. Can you imagine lying beneath this, contemplating the divine drama unfolding above? I find myself wondering, what stories are they telling? Editor: Stories? Curator: Absolutely! Each god, each gesture, it's all part of a grand narrative. Verrio is painting a world of power, myth, and maybe even a little bit of mischief. It makes me wonder, what did the original patrons hope to convey with this celestial scene? Editor: Wow. So much more than just decoration! I’ll never look at a ceiling the same way again.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/verrio-sketch-for-a-ceiling-decoration-an-assembly-of-the-gods-t00916
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This sketch depicts an assembly of classical gods, with the sun-god Apollo in his chariot at the top. The design is full of incident and includes so many figures that some seem to be falling out of the fictive sky into the real space below. This design was for a ceiling of an aristocratic patron, and was probably intended for a room at Moor Park Hall, Hertfordshire. Is it possible to detect a distinct ‘aristocratic’ taste in such designs? Gallery label, March 2011
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