Hall of the Aetas Felicior, or of the Kiss

The Hall of the Aetas Felicior, or Of the Kiss, sees, as well as that of the Ariosto, a collaboration between the artists Jacopo Zanguidi - known as Il Bertoja - and Girolamo Mirola for their decoration. The theme of the room is confirmed by the engraving that runs along the frame framing the fresco of the central vault: AETAS FELICIOR, happy age.

The great mastery of the use of the fresco by the two artists can also be seen in the use of shadows and the combination of bright light colors such as white and golden yellow.

The fresco depicts Venus lying down while she is turning her gaze to Love, ignoring the satyr behind her. The scene is the expression of the Golden Age, in which all people abandon themselves, radiating happiness and peace.

If the figures in the foreground are visible and well definable with the naked eye,

the figures on the background are more sketched without sacrificing pictorial continuity and enjoyment by the observer.

The decoration of the room develops starting from the vault, around the central fresco, and going down on the walls: the scenes are taken from Orlando In Love by Matteo Maria Boiardo, in line with the theme already mentioned.

In addition to color, another characteristic of the mastery of the two artists is the skilful use of details in compositions with a large number of figures.

For instance, the rendering of detail in the ornaments of the horse or the contrast between parts of light in the clothes of the figures.

The narration starts when Orlando, fallen into the River of Laughter and prey to the Naiads, needs to be saved. His friends Ruggiero, Gradasso, Brandimarte and Fiordelisa leave for his cause.

The paladins, friends of Orlando, set out in search of the lost paladin.

The first challenge that the group of friends is faced with is a thick dark forest. Ruggiero and Gradasso find themselves in particular difficulty: both, unable to continue on their way, cut two trees, respectively a laurel and an ash tree, from which two Naiads come out. They enchant them and make them both fall into the River of Laughter.

Here the paladins enter the forest in search of Orlando, where they will later find themselves inside the River of Laughter, visible in the west wall of the Hall.

Note the drawing of the figures, the tension of the bodies and the musculature of the animals in a purely manneristic way.

This is the moment that anticipates the fall of the two paladins, Ruggiero and Gradasso, into the River of Laughter.

The girl, in fact, is a Naiad, who will enchant the two paladins by dragging them into the waters of the river.

As anticipated, the two paladins, bewitched by the two Naiads, fall from their horses to enter the kingdom of the Naiads, then finding themselves in the Crystal Palace.

Note the volume of the bodies and the huge musculature visible in the heroes protagonists of the cycle.

The two friends are thus inside the fantastic Crystal Palace, located under the waters of the River, home of the Naiads. They indulge in songs, dances and kisses together with all the men captured and bewitched on the surface.

The columns of the Crystal Palace do not break the compositional continuity, as the characters portrayed behind the columns are made of crystal.

The Kiss, theme of the Hall together with the topic of the Aetas Felicior.

Brandimarte and Fiordelisa can be seen in the crowd while they are walking towards their companions: Brandimarte resists the temptation of the Naiads only thanks to the wreath of flowers and herbs that Fiordelisa has placed on his head. The story ends in the west wall that shows the four companions emerge from the waters of the River, saved thanks to the work of Fiordelisa.

In addition to the monumentality of the bodies, the artifice of the reflection of the bodies of the characters still demonstrates the fresco skills of the two artists.