ZUCCARO, Taddeo
(b. 1529, Sant'Angelo in Vado, d. 1566, Roma)

Scene from the History of the Farnese Family

1562-63
Fresco
Sala del Concilio, Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

In the two rooms on the piano nobile suited for a larger public, the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani and the Sala del Concilio, Taddeo Zuccaro painted a cycle depicting, in a total of twenty-three scenes, the history of the Farnese family.

The depiction of events from family history already had a long tradition in the Farnese family. Vasari painted a cycle in the Cancellaria, Rome, and Salviati in the Palazzo Farnese, Rome. Yet no cycle of paintings before Caprarola had depicted the history of the Farnese in such an extensive manner, from medieval times up to the present day.

The Sala del Concilio, the room connecting to the large Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani, is dedicated entirely to the deeds of Paul III. The ceiling shows the coronation of the pope in the centre, surrounded by four further events.

The walls rehearse a series of the pope's acts that had already been depicted in the Cancellaria or in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Four large scenes are depicted on the four walls of the rectangular room: Paul III Receives Charles V on His Victorious Return from Tunis; Paul III Appoints Cardinals; Paul III Makes Peace between Charles V and Francis I in Nice in 1538; and Paul III Opens the Council of Trent in 1546.

The picture shows the scene of Paul III Makes Peace between Charles V and Francis I in Nice in 1538.