Allegorical triumph with Venus and Minerva

Strongly inspired by the art of Polidoro da Caravaggio (circa 1499-1543) and Taddeo Zuccaro (1529-1566), this monumental sheet was executed by an artist active in Rome towards the mid-sixteenth century. Probably conceived for a fresco decoration or a façade, it resembles especially the work of Prospero Fontana (1512-1597), as proven by comparison with the artist’s Banquet of the Gods (British Museum, London, inv. 1875,0710.2631), a highly finished preparatory study for his frescoes at Villa Giulia, Rome (1553-56), and The Feast of the Gods (sold at Christie’s, London, 3 July 2007, lot 22), for the ceiling of Palazzo Vitelli in Città di Castello (circa 1556-60), both executed in pen and ink and white bodycolor on blue paper.