THE PARTS OF THE WORLD
The Camerino of Europe 1658 – 1659
Attributed to Giambattista Tassi (reports from 1658 – 1681)
From the documentation of the payments made to the painters working at the Valmontone site, there are no references to the artist of Europe, but certain details suggest that it was Giambattista Tassi, the artist of the vault of The Earth. By applying Giovanni Morelli’s method based on so-called ‘sigla motifs’ or ‘Morellian figures’ which consists of comparing recurring anatomical details characteristic of a given artist, very striking similarities are revealed. The right foot of Europe and that of the female figure in the scene of fauns are identical; the conformation of the toes, the position in which they are resting, and the style of the footwear all appear to be derived from the same drawing. Analogies with Europe’s foot are also found with the left feet of two other figures also present in the vault of The Earth (Latona and the allegory of Architecture). The horse to the left of Europe is very similar to the one in Latona’s scene: the shape of the ears (both sharply pointed and converging towards the centre) and the movement of the mane as it is ruffled by the wind.
The allegory of the continent faithfully respects the indications suggested by Cesare Ripa’s Iconology. In the scene, the female figure stands out, her gaze to the left and the position of her legs in the opposite direction suggesting a subtle movement. In her right hand she holds the model of a small temple with a central plan and pronaos in Corinthian order which is vaguely reminiscent of the Pantheon, while her index finger points to the right corner indicating the painter’s tools, palette and brushes. On the same side, a horse with its mane blowing in the wind seems to burst onto the scene, its front legs covered by a gleaming, striking suit of armour. On the left are the symbols of command: the sceptre and crown represent temporal power and the tiara and cardinal’s headdress represent spiritual power; above these, a cornucopia overflows with lush, finely painted fruit.
Each attribute accompanying the allegory has a precise meaning: the architectural model alludes to Europe as the heart of Christianity, the seat of both temporal and spiritual power, symbolised by the sceptre, crown and headdress; the armour and horse celebrate the power of the armies; while the palette and brushes proclaim Europe’s superiority in the arts.
The Camerino of Europe also showed traces of portals, probably in plaster, that once adorned the entrance halls. In order to leave visible evidence of this, only the edges of those that were once materially present near the rooms have been reproduced during the restoration, again allowing the original state of the rooms to be replicated by means of a very light-toned pictorial reintegration that follows the outlines of the original portals.
