In 1597 Cardinal Odoardo Farnese commissioned Annibale Carracci's great masterpiece, the ceiling of the Galleria Farnese in the Palazzo Farnese, the most splendid and influential ceiling decoration in Rome since that of the Sistine Chapel. Annibale's brother Agostino assisted him on at least two of the scenes until they quarrelled and Agostino left Rome. In contrast to the earlier interpretation which saw them as a Neoplatonic allegory of the victory of Celestial Love over physical passion, in recent years Annibale's frescoes have generally been regarded as a witty and joyous celebration of the classical gods in love.

Just as Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling marks the beginning of sixteenth century monumental Roman ceiling painting, the Galleria Farnese closes the century with a similarly magnificent ceiling decoration. These frescoes were tremendously influential, for two centuries ranking with Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's frescos in the Vatican as the supreme examples of Western painting. Generations of young painters were set to copy it.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	The Galleria Farnese 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	General view 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	General view 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Ceiling fresco 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Ceiling fresco 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Ceiling fresco 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne (detail) 1595-1605 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne (detail) 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne (detail) 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Polyphemus and Galatea 1595-1605 Fresco Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Polyphemus and Acis 1595-1605 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Polyphemus and Acis 1595-1605 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Pan and Diana 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Mercury and Paris 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Cephalus and Aurora 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	A Sea God Abducts a Woman 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	A Sea God Abducts a Woman (detail) 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Jupiter and Juno 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Venus and Anchises 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Diana and Endymion 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Perseus Liberating Andromeda 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Perseus Fighting with Phineus 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Perseus Fighting with Phineus (detail) 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Hercules and Iole 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Europa and the Bull 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Eros and Anteros 1597-1602 Fresco Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome
	Sketch for the ceiling of the Galleria Farnese 1590s Pen and ink and wash, 164 x 255 mm Musée du Louvre, Paris
	Sketch for the ceiling of the Galleria Farnese 1590s Pen and ink and wash, 241 x 287 mm Musée du Louvre, Paris
	Sketch for frieze of the Galleria Farnese 1590s Pen and ink and wash, 270 x 242 mm École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris