The Apotheosis of Romulus: design for a ceiling decoration

This drawing is the most elaborate study known for the ceiling fresco of the first ante-chamber in the Palazzo Altieri, Rome (S. Stagni, Domenico Maria Canuti. Pittore (1626-1684). Catalogo Generale, Rimini, 1988, pp. 87, 90-1, 181, pl. XVII). Of Rome’s Baroque palaces, the Palazzo Altieri is one of the most remarkable, both for its architectural qualities and the interior and its decorations. Construction of the original building was started in 1633 and completed in 1672. The decoration of the interior, however, continued under the supervision of Paluzzo Paluzzi degli Albertoni (1623-1698), appointed a cardinal in 1666. Commissioned by him, the ceiling decoration related to the present sheet was executed between the end of 1675 and October 1676 (Stagni, op. cit., p. 87). The Paluzzi family is referenced to in the fresco by a lion, the family’s heraldic symbol, while the 24-pointed stars are part of the family coat-of-arms of the Altieri.

Canuti prepared the fresco in a number of studies: one for the full composition is in the Prado (Stagni, op. cit., p. 91, fig. 39), while another for the figure of Jupiter is in the The Morgan Library & Museum (op. cit., p. 91, fig. 40), and a third, with the detail of the Apotheosis of Romulus, was sold at Christie’s, London, 6 July 2004, lot 60. For the project, Canuti called upon the German quadraturista Enrico Haffner (1640-1702), who frescoed the spectacular architectural framework that surrounds the fresco.