The Loves of the Gods Annibale Carracci Buy Art Prints Now
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Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
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This monumental project came right at the end of Annibale Carracci's career and required so much work that he had to make use of support from members of his studio and also his brother, Agostino.

The commission was for a series of paintings installed in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and it took a total of 11 years to complete, even after the artist brought in additional help. Those fortunate enough to find these great paintings in the building's west wing will immediately understand exactly why it took so long to complete. The palace itself now hosts the French Embassy and has been well preserved over the past few centuries.

Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne is certainly the most prominent of all the panel paintings in this series, centrally placed horizontally and vertically. This work is then surrounded by a variety of other works to complete the ceiling. There are then additional sculptures and paintings by other artists within the same room, giving a final impression of extraordinary beauty.

Series of paintings and sculptures were common within the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Some of the finest examples include Paolo Uccello's Battle paintings which captured the same war but at three different times of the same decisive day. You can also follow the entire life of Jesus Christ, or at least the key highlights as laid out by the Bible, from Lorenzo Ghiberti's North Doors series of sculptured panels.