The Demi-Gods Ceiling is a painted coffered ceiling by the Italian Renaissance master Pinturicchio , dating to c. 1490 and housed in the last of the suite of reception rooms in the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri in Rome , Italy . It comprises 63 octagonal coffers in gilded wood, decorated with allegoric and mythological figures on a faux-mosaic background, and painted on paper.
8-411: The work was commissioned by Cardinal Domenico della Rovere , at the time patron of the young Pinturicchio. The figures of the ceiling were inspired by medieval bestiaries and libri monstrorum , which contained hybrid figures such as sphinxes , armed tritons, satyrs, dragons, sirens and centaurs. The theme has hidden philosophical and humanist meanings, perhaps suggested by the literati who formed
16-888: The Collegiate church of Saluzzo and the rebuilding of the Turin Cathedral , as well as a new castle in Vinovo to serve as his residence. In Piazza Scossacavalli , in the Borgo rione of Rome, he commissioned Pinturicchio the decoration (including the Semi-Gods Ceiling ) of the Palazzo bearing his name , whose construction he had started in 1480, perhaps under design by Baccio Pontelli . He died in Rome on 22 April 1501, having made his Last Will and Testament earlier on
24-478: The cardinal's court. In the center is the genealogical tree of the Della Rovere with two peacocks, which can be seen also at the corners. One of the representations is a nude allegory of Fortune, who rides a dolphin, differently from contemporary Florentine depictions in which she is portrayed on a small boat. There is also a putto on two sea horses going in different directions, a Neoplatonic allegory of
32-550: The hope of establishing a link between his humble Ligurian family and that of the Piedmontese counts of Vinovo. In 1478 he was appointed as Bishop of Tarantaise succeeding his brother, Cristoforo . In the same year, on 10 February, he was created cardinal of San Vitale by Sixtus IV (one year later he exchanged the title with that of San Clemente). Also in 1478, he received the title of bishop of Montefiascone and Corneto , which he kept until his death. On 19 July 1482 he
40-645: The human soul, divided between Good and Evil, according to Marsilio Ficino 's 1475 comments to Plato 's Symposium . The Weighing of the Soul and the Eagle Defeating the Snake are ancient themes which had been syncretized by the Christian world. Numerous depictions are of sea creatures, including sirens with two tails, painted while breastfeeding, painting or executing acrobatic dances. They were inspired by
48-674: The sea thiasus featured in Roman sarcophagi and which was also used by Andrea Mantegna , whom perhaps Pinturicchio met in the building of the Belvedere Palace in the Vatican . Domenico della Rovere Domenico della Rovere (1442 – 23 April 1501) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts. He was born in Vinovo , near Turin , and was not a relative of Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco Della Rovere), who, however, favoured him in
56-439: The work, which had barely reached the level of the main floor of the church at the time of his death. After Sixtus' death in 1484, he went to Rome to participate in the papal conclave , which elected Pope Innocent VIII . Della Rovere remained in Rome for most of the rest of his life, leaving the diocese of Turin in the hands of his vicars and procurators, including his nephew Giovanni Ludovico della Rovere. In Piedmont, he funded
64-628: Was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Geneva , during the Sede vacante following the death of Joannes Ludovicus de Sabaudia. He was transferred to the diocese of Turin on 24 July 1482, only five days later, when the Bishop of Turin, Jean de Compoys, was transferred to Geneva. In 1483, he laid the cornerstone for the new cathedral of S. Margherita in Montefiascone, and in his Last Will and Testament in 1501 he left money to continue
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