Jupiter and Astraea

ca. 1545–50

Not on view

According to Ovid's 'Metamorphoses,' the most consulted mythological text in the Renaissance, when human wickedness forced the Gods to abandon the earthly realm, Astraea, the goddess of Justice, was the last to flee to the heavens where she transformed into the constellation Virgo. In Campi's drawing, Astraea, identified by an inscription at the lower right, Aestrit, is shown not with her scales but rather in an amorous embrace with Jupiter, who has taken the form of an eagle in order to seduce her. Jupiter was famous for the many guises he took to beguile his objects of desire, and this theme was popular in mid-sixteenth century Mantua in the circle of Duke Federico Gonzaga II. Campi's exquisite drawing was a preparatory study for a group of frescoes representing the many loves of Jupiter painted about 1545–50 for a small room in the Palazzo Aldegatti, which was owned by an aristocratic Mantuan family. The present sheet was acquired in 2003 from the collection of the great scholar and connoisseur of Italian master drawings Philip Pouncey (1910–1990).

Artwork Details

Title: Jupiter and Astraea
Artist: Giulio Campi (Italian, Cremona 1502–1572)
Date: ca. 1545–50
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on paper tinted with a thin brown wash
Dimensions: Sheet: 6 1/4 x 9 1/8 in. (15.9 x 23.1 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. David M. Tobey and Charles and Jessie Price Gifts, 2003
Object Number: 2003.86
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Giulio Campi

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Design for an Ornamental Panel with Rinceaux, Satyrs, Putti, Monsters and a Human Head, Giulio Campi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash on brown ink washed paper, highlighted with white gouache — Design for an Ornamental Panel with Rinceaux, Satyrs, Putti, Monsters and a Human Head
Giulio Campi
1535–45

Jupiter and Juno: Study for the "Furti di Giove" Tapestries, Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Pen and dark brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash, highlighted with white gouache — Jupiter and Juno: Study for the "Furti di Giove" Tapestries
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
ca. 1532–35

Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso), Leonardo da Vinci Italian, Silverpoint, partly reworked by the artist with pen and dark brown ink on pink prepared paper; lines ruled with metalpoint (recto); pen and brown ink (verso) — Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso)
Leonardo da Vinci
1480–85

Lucretia, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Pen and brown ink over black chalk, partially incised with a stylus (recto); rubbed with black chalk for transfer (verso) — Lucretia
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
1508–10

Three Standing Figures (recto); Seated Woman and a Male Hermit in Half-length (verso), Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia) Italian, Pen and brown ink, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink, brush with touches of brown wash, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (verso) — Three Standing Figures (recto); Seated Woman and a Male Hermit in Half-length (verso)
Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia)
1435–38

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