TIEPOLO, La caduta di FETONTE -- Villa Baglioni

Speranza

The source for TIEPOLO is the second book of OVIDIO, Metamorphoses.

The choice of subject implies a warning against being boastful in order to avoid divine punishment -- the fate of FETONTE --.

The subject was particularly suitable to newly arrived nobility such as the BAGLIONI.

On the east wall, TIEPOLO stages the principal episode.

FETONTE asks his father, APOLLO, to let his drive the chariot of the sun.

The chariot appears in the lower section, with spirited horses, a gray AEOS and a sorrel Phlegon, ready to lead him into the sky, their bridles held by the Hours.

The opposite wall is divided into two parts by the doors that lead into the hall from the monumental staircase.

Above the trabeation is the BAGLIONI coat of arms, and the client's monogram, held by two men.

The right portion of the wall contains the scene of LA CADUTA DI FETONTE, in which he plunges into the Po River.

The left side shows the HELIADS, sisters of FETONTE, whose enormous grief at the loss of their beloved brother would prompt the gods to transform them into poplar trees.