PRIMATICCIO, Francesco
(b. 1504, Bologna, d. 1570, Paris)

Decoration of the Royal Staircase (detail)

1541-44
Stucco and fresco
Apartments of the Duchesse d'Étampes, Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne)

The oval painting flanked by stucco figures depicts the scene Alexander and Campaspe by Primaticcio. Campaspe was a supposed mistress of Alexander the Great. According to tradition, she was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters.