Viata~ in Astrono~/, Vo[. 28, p.407, 1985 0083-6656/85 $0.00 + .

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A N A S T R O N O M I C A L I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF
T H E F R E S C O E S IN T H E S A L A DI
G A L A T E A IN T H E V I L L A F A R N E S I N A ,
ROME
Juan Casanovas
Specola Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy

The p a i n t e d frescoes in the famous Villa Farnesina in Rome obviously

represent astronomical constellations, and they were studied in
some detail by A . B e e r and by W . H a r t n e r (see references below).
The paintings are presumed to r e p r e s e n t the h o r o s c o p e of the
Sienese banker Agostino Chigi, for w h o m the V i l l a was built in
the fifteenth century. Chigi commissioned the leading artists of
the d a y , i n c l u d i n g Raphael,Perruzzi and o t h e r s to d e c o r a t e the V i l l a .
The ceiling frescoes in the 'Sala di G a l a t e a ' are primarily the w o r k
of B a l d a s s a r e Peruzzi. On the supposition that the frescoes did
indeed represent the p a t r o n ' s birth-date, Beer tried to d e d u c e
this date - which was unknown at the time of these studies (1964) -
from the p l a n e t a r y positions indicated in the p a i n t i n g s .

Recently, documentary evidence of C h i g i ' s birth date has come to

light, and it d i f f e r s by o n l y two d a y s from the date derived by
Beer - I December,1466. The traditional view that the frescoes
represent Chigi's horoscope, or rather the sky c o n f i g u r a t i o n at the
date of his birth, is thus confirmed. There is no n e e d to a s s u m e
that the p a i n t i n g s represent the a c t u a l constellations, but rather
that they depict the traditional zodiacal signs as u s e d in a s t r o l o g y .
A complete interpretation of the w h o l e pictorial composition is t h u s
possible.

References

Arthur Beer,'Astronomical Dating of W o r k s of Art', Vistas in A s t r o n . 9 ,

pp ]87-199 : Oxford,1967.

W.Hartner, Vistas in A s t r o n o m y 9, pp 225-228 : Oxford,1967.

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