Venus riding in a chariot and Jupiter and Venus

An engraving by Cherubino Alberti reproducing, in reverse, the pendentive frescoes depicting Venus riding in a chariot (on the left) and Jupiter and Venus (on the right) 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. Lettered below image with a dedication to Cardinal Lorenzo Magalotti, attribution of the design to Raphael and the privilege line 'cum privilegio S.Pon.' First published in 1582; this impression a reissue by Alberti's heirs. Trimmed within platemark. Annotated on verso.

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).