Love Conquers All

This large sheet is a preparatory study for part of the ceiling decoration in a gallery in the Palazzo Balbi-Senarega in Genoa. The focus is not on the illusionistic vault, which is only partially rendered at the top of the sheet, but on the narrow space between it and the upper wall. The theme of the gallery is the triumph of love over mortals and gods alike, and depicted here are, from left to right, Pyramus and Thisbe; a satyr; Bacchus and Ariadne; Mercury, Pan, and Syrinx; Neptune; and Nessus and Deianeira. The squaring of the right half suggests that this was the final state of the design before it was transposed to the upper wall and vault, yet it also reveals that Ferrari was still considering alternate decorative systems for the architecture: on the right-hand side of the drawing, dentils are featured in the cornice above the pilasters, while on the left-hand side, palmettes are used. For the final articulation of the continuous band, Ferrari chose the more festive palmettes.