FERRARI, Gregorio de
(b. 1647, Porto Maurizio, d. 1726, Genova)

Fantasia poetica

c. 1689
Oil on canvas, 74 x 90 cm
Palazzo Rosso, Genoa

This bozzetto (oil sketch) shows part of the ceiling fresco in the Sale Grande in Palazzo Rosso (destroyed in 1942). Although almost all of the elements of the painting have been identified, its actual subject matter has still not been properly explained. It shows Helios and Phaethon, Saturn, Hercules, and the Glory of the Brignole Sale family.