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Jupiter and Juno: Study for the "Furti di Giove" Tapestries

ca. 1532–35
Not on view
One of Perino’s most beautiful and important drawings, this monumental depiction of the Roman gods holding hands as they recline on their marriage bed is a highly finished study for one of the woven panels in a lavish and costly set of tapestries, now lost, depicting the clandestine erotic adventures of Jupiter (the "Furti di Giove"). The tapestry series was commissioned by Admiral-Prince Andrea Doria, ruler of Genoa and one of Perino’s major patrons, to hang in his newly erected palace on the outskirts of the city as a dazzling display of princely magnificence and cultivated taste. The artist envisioned the amorous composition as if seen through a window complete with illusionistic framing elements lavishly decorated with classical detailing. The high degree of finish, lack of changes or revisions, and rich combination of media, as well as the large size and the inclusion of the surrounding borders and heraldic shield, suggest that this drawing was made as a presentation piece to show the patron. Trained in Raphael’s studio in Rome, Perino absorbed the lessons of his master’s vocabulary (steeped in classical antiquity) into his own uniquely personal, elegant Mannerist style. This mature drawing of Jupiter and Juno, with its emphasis on extreme artifice, decorative grace, and effortless refinement, represents something of a culmination in Perino’s artistic career. It also more than proves his sheer technical virtuosity and capacity for extravagant invention.
(Carmen C. Bambach)

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Jupiter and Juno: Study for the "Furti di Giove" Tapestries
  • Artist: Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) (Italian, Florence 1501–1547 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1532–35
  • Medium: Pen and dark brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash, highlighted with white gouache
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 17 x 15 3/4 in. (43.2 x 40 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Acquisitions Fund and Annette and Oscar de la Renta Gift, 2011
  • Object Number: 2011.36
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Christ and the Daughter of the Centurion, Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk
Christ and the Daughter of the Centurion
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
Anonymous, Italian, 16th century
16th century
Sketch for a wall panel in the Sala Paolina at Castel Sant' Angelo, Rome, Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Pen and brown ink
Sketch for a wall panel in the Sala Paolina at Castel Sant' Angelo, Rome
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
ca. 1546
Minerva from the "Doria Grotesques", Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Wool, silk (17-19 warps per inch, 7-8 per cm.), Netherlandish, Brussels
Minerva from the "Doria Grotesques"
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
Joost van Herzeele
Designed 1545, woven ca. 1550
Allegory or Goddess (Juno?), Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Pen and brown ink
Allegory or Goddess (Juno?)
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
16th century
Design for a Grotesque Wall Decoration, Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) Italian, Pen and brown ink
Design for a Grotesque Wall Decoration
Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi)
1501–47

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