THE STORY OF THE ELEMENTS
The Earth Room, 1658 – 1659
Giambattista Tassi (reports from 1658 – 1681)
Giambattista Tassi is an almost completely unknown figure to critics. His activity is first documented in the payments he received for Valmontone, where he also features as Cortonese, perhaps due to the obvious similarities with the Baroque style of Pietro da Cortona. We find him again in Rome in 1661 as a painter of architecture and perspectives, while in 1673 he set up scenography for the Chigi family in Ariccia. Finally, an unspecified canvas in perspective mentioned in the report of a Roman notary in 1681 is his.
The vault of the Earth Room is therefore to be considered the only well-known work by this artist, whose hand is undoubtedly happier in the execution of landscapes and still lifes than in the rendering of the figures, which are rather uncertain in their posture and not always at ease in space. It is no coincidence, in fact, that Tassi sets the five scenes of the vault in open and expansive settings, with backdrops rich in vegetation, mountain silhouettes and lake views.
The surface is divided into scenes by a monochrome painted architectural frame and reliefs in which mythological characters and allegorical figures illustrate the theme of the Earth intended as fertility and the generating force of nature. In the centre is the personification of the element in the guise of Cybele, mother of all the gods. She holds a sceptre and a globe in her hands, wears a turreted crown and rides in triumph on a chariot drawn by lions.
On the narrow side towards to the Camerini, there is a representation of the rape of Proserpine: the maiden is surrounded by maidservants, unaware of the fate that awaits her. Pluto, the god of the underworld, is about to abduct her and take her to Hades. The myth alludes to the changing seasons. The awakening of nature with the arrival of spring and summer coincides with Proserpine’s return to Earth; her descent into the underworld marks autumn and winter.
On the opposite side we find Latona holding her children Apollo and Diana, a clear reference to the theme of female fertility. In correspondence to the wall with the fireplace, on the right we see the personifications of the Arts: Architecture, Painting and Sculpture.
On the opposite side, two fauns have gathered game as a tribute to a couple, probably the hunters Apollo and Diana, who are happily enjoying themselves, accompanied by hunting dogs. Camillo loved to hunt and had packs of hounds at his palace in Valmontone. In addition, the years when the frescoes were being painted also saw the prince and his wife Olimpia Aldobrandini reconcile after having previously separated. The presence of the heraldic symbols of both, reproduced in monochrome at the corners, confirms the celebratory and augural intention of the fresco. Once again united under their family coats of arms, the couple devote themselves to the pleasures of life in the fiefdom, in the pursuit of physical activities (hunting) and intellectual entertainment (the figurative arts, poetry and mathematics).
