Scene from the History of the Farnese Family

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 scene shown here represents Charles V, Alessandro Farnese, and Ottavio Farnese at the Head of the Imperial Army against the League of Schmalkalden, 1546. It is one of the four larger scenes on the long sides of the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani.