Ceilings are often referred to as the “fifth wall” in today’s interior design world, but decorative schemes for ceilings are nothing new. The illusionistic style of ceiling frescoes known in Italian as “di sotto in sù,” meaning “from below to above,” can be traced to 16th-century Venice. Ceiling frescoes have earlier roots in wall painting from ancient Rome. Historic ceiling frescoes often featuring a trompe l’oeil sky that seems to extend to celestial heights. Standard subjects in historic ceiling frescoes are mythological and biblical figures. Examples can be found in churches and palaces in Italy and throughout Europe.
Mantegna’s Painted Room
Andrea Mantegna (about 1431–1506) was born near Padua, a city rich with antiquities that sparked his lifelong interest in classical art, which inspired his work. He married into the Bellini family, a prominent Venetian art dynasty. Mantegna’s work often portrayed unique compositions and is distinguished for its sculptural style of painting that paid great attention to proportion and perspective.
Highly regarded during his lifetime, he influenced other preeminent artists, including his brother-in-law Giovanni Bellini and the German Albrecht Dürer. In 1460, Mantegna was appointed court artist to the rulers of Mantua, the Gonzagas, and worked for three generations of the family.
His crowning fresco achievement was created in a room in Mantua’s Ducal Palace between 1465 and 1474. Located in the northeastern part of the building, the chamber is called “Camera Picta,” or “Painted Room,” and was known subsequently as “Camera degli Sposi,” translated as “Bridal Chamber.” The Marquis used it as a state room to receive government figures and as an official place for meetings with family members. Paintings that exult the Gonzagas and their court cover the walls; they depict lush background landscapes that belie the architectural confines of the room.
Correggio’s ‘Assumption of the Virgin’
Born Antonio Allegri (circa 1489–1534), but best known by the name of his hometown, Correggio, the artist is esteemed for his prowess in portraying luminosity and imparting divine light in his pictures. Correggio painted altarpieces, virtuosic illusionistic frescoes, mythological scenes, and smaller scale devotional works. Considered the leading painter in the region of Emilia-Romagna, he created his greatest art while working in the city of Parma.
It was there that he created three ceiling frescoes. The most extraordinary was for the octagonal cupola of the Romanesque Cathedral of Parma. Called “Assumption of the Virgin,” the fresco was completed in 1530. Four patron saints of Parma—Saint Bernard degli Uberti, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Joseph and Saint Hilary—are painted in faux shells in the dome’s supporting arches (pendentives). Above this is a trompe l’oeil parapet, akin to Mantegna’s, with the Apostles set in front.
Overhead this strip is a portrayal of the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven. Correggio places her on the dome’s western side, not at its center, so that she’s visible to viewers at the foot of the staircase leading from the nave up to the altar. Mary, wearing a pink robe and blue mantle, is set amidst a glorious, seemingly infinite spiral of angels, putti, and clouds.
To Mary’s right are biblical patriarchs led by Adam. Grouped with him are David and the head of Goliath, Abraham, his son Isaac with the sacrificial lamb, and Jacob. Female figures surround Eve on Mary’s left. Eve holds an apple with a green shoot that, in this context, is a symbol of salvation.
Tiepolo and the World’s Largest Fresco
Correggio’s frescoes were a big inspiration to artists in Italy and abroad during the Baroque and Rococo eras. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770) was born into a prominent Venetian family. He’s considered the greatest fresco painter of his age, pushing the boundaries of the medium with his technical gifts and theatrical compositions. His complex narratives feature fantastic costumes and splendid fantasy. Tiepolo was also an innovative draftsman whose prints were widely circulated. Many of his paintings were preparatory works for his frescoes or copies of the finished work.
To see Tiepolo’s greatest artistic achievement requires a trip to Germany, specifically Würzburg. An architectural masterpiece is this northern Bavarian city is the Würzburg Residence, made for the ruling prince-bishop. Above its grandiose three flights staircase is Tiepolo’s “Apollo and the Four Continents,” made between 1750 and 1753; it’s the largest fresco in the world.
The fresco combines myth and contemporary politics. Meticulous like Correggio in his placement, Tiepolo planned multiple viewpoints that considered a visitor’s progression up the staircase. The central component is an expansive, dramatic sky starring Olympian gods. Apollo, the god of sun and the arts, is preparing for his daily chariot ride that brings light to the world. Tiepolo’s composition is an allegory that likens Apollo to the prince-bishop. The Hours, female figures depicted with butterfly wings, lead the horses and reins to Apollo while putti push the golden means of transportation through clouds. The other gods present are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus.
