Taddeo in the Belvedere Court in the Vatican Drawing the Laocoön

Having recovered from his illness, Taddeo Zuccaro returned to Rome to study both classical and contemporary works of art. He sits in the courtyard of the Vatican Belvedere, sketching the Laocoön. Around him are the Apollo Belvedere and the river gods of the Tiber and the Nile. An inkwell and pen box sit at his feet as he draws.

The highlights of Roman architecture stretch out below Taddeo, including the papal apartments of the Vatican decorated by Raphael. Federico Zuccaro singled them out for notice with his label, le camere di Rafaello (Raphael's apartments). On the right is the new Saint Peter's basilica under construction. The left side of the courtyard was still open in the 1540s, but it was closed in later in the century.