The assignment to Spada probably derives from the awareness of the role played by the artist in the design and construction of the theatre complex commissioned by Ranuccio Farnese. Beyond the numerous mentions of the artist’s name in documents and correspondence relating to that undertaking (for which see at least Capelli 1990 and Fornari 1994, pp. 92-101), his hand can be identified in many of the fake monochrome statues inserted within the wooden Serlian windows that run along the walls of the large hall.
The construction of the ceiling of the Theatre, the decoration of which had begun at least in May 1618, began in July of the same year, as can be learned from a letter from Count Alfonso Pozzo, creator of the allegorical programme of the Hall, to the Marquis Enzo Bentivoglio in Ferrara (Fornari 1994, p. 93), to whom he also communicated the decision to adopt wooden planks instead of canvases because they were more resistant to the elements and to the damage caused by animals such as pigeons and mice.
From this document and the following ones it appears that the works were organized by Spada, who availed himself of collaborators, and in parallel by Malosso, who due to misunderstandings with his colleagues from Bologna and Piacenza soon abandoned the enterprise. The ceiling, which was also entrusted with the function of illusionistically enlarging the vault with a daring perspective illusion, was definitively demolished in 1867, and these two fragments seem to be the only ones to have been preserved.
It is possible that they come from the central area of the decoration, and that they belonged to the procession of divinities that accompanied the figure of Jupiter carried by the eagle (Fornari 1994, p. 95). Even if it seems difficult to support the direct authorship of Lionello for the entire decoration of the arena, and it is possible that here too he made use of assistants, the two putti do in fact respond to his style, as can be attested by the comparison with the Putti holding books emigrated to Naples with the Farnese collections ( Museo … 1994, pp. 254, 257). The lighting solutions adopted, in particular, in the tablet inventoried with n. 1143 refer to a drawing that is certainly autograph: a beautiful half-figure of an Angel holding a book from the Royal Library of Windsor Castle (inv. 5304; Kurz 1955, p. 138,
n. 537, fig. 102).
Bibliography
Ghidiglia Quintavalle 1960, p. 48;
Ghidiglia Quintavalle 1968b, pp. 62-63;
Fornari 1994, p. 93.Restorations
1967-68.Exhibitions
Parma 1968.Card by Fiorella Frisoni, taken from Fornari Schianchi L. (edited by), Galleria Nazionale di Parma. Catalogue of works. The Seventeenth Century, Franco Maria Ricci, Milan, 1999.