Pietro da Cortona, painter and architect, was one of the founders of the Roman High Baroque, comparable with Bernini in sculpture. He painted his most famous work, the huge ceiling fresco, Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power, for the palace of the Barberini family in Rome. This fresco is a huge illusion, with its central field apparently open to the sky and scores of figures seen coming into the room itself or floating above it. He painted similar frescoes in the Pitti Palace in Florence, where his Allegories of Virtues and Planets have elaborate stucco accompaniments uniting the painted ceilings with the framework of the rooms. This form of decoration was widely influential, not only in Italy, but also in France.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	The Triumph of Divine Providence 1633-39 Fresco Palazzo Barberini, Rome	1320*961 True Color 205 Kb
	Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power 1633-39 Fresco Palazzo Barberini, Rome	800*1107 True Color 189 Kb
	Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power (detail) 1633-39 Fresco Palazzo Barberini, Rome	808*1069 True Color 194 Kb
	View of the Galleria Pamphilj 1651-54 Fresco Palazzo Pamphilj, Rome	1030*777 True Color 142 Kb
	Landing of the Trojans at the Mouth of Tiberis 1651-54 Fresco Palazzo Pamphilj, Rome	1030*774 True Color 166 Kb
	Apotheose of Aeneas (detail) 1651-54 Fresco Palazzo Pamphilj, Rome	908*580 True Color 127 Kb
	View of the Hall of Venus 1642 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	837*1200 True Color 210 Kb
	Ceiling of the Hall of Venus 1642 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	1087*900 True Color 235 Kb
	View of the Hall of Mars 1643-44 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	950*1104 True Color 211 Kb
	Ceiling fresco with Medici coat-of-arms 1643-44 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	900*1250 True Color 215 Kb
	View of the Hall of Jupiter 1643-44 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	1154*900 True Color 201 Kb
	View of the Hall of Saturn 1663-65 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	1098*770 True Color 203 Kb
	Ceiling Fresco in the Hall of Saturn 1663-65 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	1207*800 True Color 224 Kb
	View of the Sala della Stufa 1637-41 Fresco Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	850*1212 True Color 228 Kb
	The Age of Gold 1637 Fresco Sala della Stufa, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	900*1177 True Color 235 Kb
	Study for the Age of Silver c. 1635 Black chalk and white lead on blue paper, 400 x 251 mm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence	850*1324 True Color 191 Kb
	Study for the Age of Silver 1637 Red and black pencil on waxed paper, 350 x 246 mm Museo Horne, Florence	611*1100 True Color 135 Kb
	The Age of Gold - Pen, ink, red chalk on white paper, 420 x 280 mm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence	800*1046 True Color 177 Kb
	The Age of Bronze 1637-41 Fresco Sala della Stufa, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	850*1205 True Color 223 Kb
	The Age of Iron 1637-41 Fresco Sala della Stufa, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence	850*1200 True Color 202 Kb