Life in frescoes

An amusing scene in which roughly sketched figures dance on the grounds of a villa.

Perhaps the view of the Lakes of Mantua, with a narrow wooden bridge.

Two figures by a well turn to a figure who seems to be blended into the stone.

Two soldiers, one riding a horse, the other turning to us and showing a shield.

A beautiful dame immersed in the architecture of a noble palace receives a gift from a figure whose features cannot be made out: perhaps a suitor?

Near the walls of a castle, under a cloudy sky, in front of a garden and a lake, two men seem to embrace each other, under the eyes of a dame who appears at the top of the walls.

Three splendidly sketched figures on a bridge. On the right a man spurs a donkey that is perhaps pulling a cart, on the left a man crosses a woman carrying a basket on her head.

Inside a bay, a man with eastern features plays a wind instrument. On his left, a woman seems to be dancing.

A sturdy man, who is gesturing in a an alarming manner, reaches out to a woman, who is scared and runs away.

Inside a wood, a little child (Amore?) brushes against the hand of a figure that looks like the God Mercury. Maybe he wants to distracts him, maybe he wants to accompany him.

A lady sings, accompanying the music she plays with a lute. Another figure watches and seems to take part.

By an arch, we witness what is probably the fight between Jacob and the Angel. The frescoes depict gallant, mythological and biblical themes.

In a landscape that is both gentle and frightful, Hercules defeats the Lion of Nemea.

A soldier with spear and helmet seems to be lost in a wasteland. He is slightly leaning forward and points to something that we cannot identify.

This scene is hard to interpret. On the left, a female figure with a statuesque appearance, dressed with oriental garments, her breasts showing, approaches a pair of figures that seem to be embracing on the ground. The woman is holding something, but it is difficult to understand the meaning of the gesture. It might be a reference to the myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha.

Two figures, including a man with a plumed hat, are looking down towards a city that rises above a hill.

A figure under a huge arch greets another man who is standing on a bridge, while a woman besides him walks holding with her hand a basket on her head. Below, a second figure seems to be dozing on the bank.

Below a country house and at the bottom of high trees, a hunter points his rifle at an animal hiding in the vegetation.

The decoration of the royal box is more sober than that of the other boxes. Its key elements are the medallions painted on a golden background.

At the centre of this medallion is a feminine figure wearing a laurel wreath. Is it the personification of Wisdom or the idealized profile of the Empress?