Home Online catalogues Studi & Schizzi 61. Paolo Farinati Verona 1524 – 1606 Verona Daphne in a Niche, circa 1595 Representations of standing figures in niches occur frequently in the graphic work of Paolo Farinati, and are widespread in the decorative schemes of the villas built in the Veneto in the second half of the sixteenth century. The sheet shown here, however, has not been connected to any of these decorations. The hand of Daphne, who is being transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape Apollo’s advances, extends out of the niche to burgeon in front of a pillar. These architectural elements constitute a quadratura: an architectural structure painted in trompe-l’œil.
Representations of standing figures in niches occur frequently in the graphic work of Paolo Farinati, and are widespread in the decorative schemes of the villas built in the Veneto in the second half of the sixteenth century. The sheet shown here, however, has not been connected to any of these decorations. The hand of Daphne, who is being transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape Apollo’s advances, extends out of the niche to burgeon in front of a pillar. These architectural elements constitute a quadratura: an architectural structure painted in trompe-l’œil.