Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto Paying Homage to the Coat of Arms of Cardinal Borghese c. early 1640s

Simone Cantarini created this red chalk drawing, "Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto Paying Homage to the Coat of Arms of Cardinal Borghese," in the 17th century. The mythological figures of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto pay tribute to the Borghese family's coat of arms. Cardinal Scipione Borghese was a prominent patron of the arts in Rome. The Borghese family amassed enormous wealth and power, and Scipione used his influence to promote the careers of artists, like Cantarini, who flattered the family's image. The iconography of the gods emphasizes the Cardinal's reach over the sky, sea, and underworld – a not-so-subtle claim to comprehensive authority. Artists in early modern Italy often worked within this patronage system, which significantly shaped artistic production and subject matter. To fully understand this work, we can examine the history of the Borghese family and their role in the political and cultural landscape of 17th-century Rome, using archival documents and other historical sources to gain a deeper insight into the artwork.