The Banquet of the Gods

An etching in reverse of the fresco depicting the Banquet of the Gods from the vault of the entrance loggia of the Farnesina, Agostino Chigi's villa in Rome, which was frescoed with mythological subjects by Raphael's workshop c.1518. The print is inscribed in ink at the lower left corner: "Raphael Vrbin inventor; Fr Paria incid". This is probably the second state of the print (see Bibliographic References). Trimmed within platemark.

Perrier in Rome made many prints after Raphael, and particurarly two series after the two central scenes of the vault of the entrance loggia of the Farnesina. This etching belongs to the first series, while the second series depicts the scenes without being reversed. On watermarked paper.

The fresco decoration in the Farnesina illustrates the classical fable of Cupid and Psyche, a story which was also frequently used to decorate Florentine wedding chests. Raphael's fresco scheme comprises two primary scenes in the vault (painted to resemble tapestries), accompanied by a series of episodes painted in the pendentives. The whole is encompassed within a fictive pergola, which gives the viewer the impression of looking up into the heavens. Only the upper part of the loggia is painted (the vault and its supporting pendentives and spandrels).