Giuseppe Valeriani (Rome, 1708? – Saint Petersburg, 1762) - The Apotheosis of the Hero, circa 1755. Sketch for the ceiling of the ballroom of the Stroganov Palace in Saint Petersburg. Oil on canvas, 49 x 65 cm. SOLD. The painting is Giuseppe Valeriani's preparatory sketch for the decoration of the ballroom of the Stroganov Palace in Saint Petersburg, built by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the early 1750s for the wealthy Stroganov family, ennobled by Peter the Great in 1722. The study depicts a complex allegory centered on the apotheosis of a hero, a representation of the patron, who is welcomed into Olympus by Jove and Juno. The other deities crowd the clouds surrounding the sacred mountain: Mercury and Mars, who present the valiant protagonist to the heavenly father, and also Apollo, Hercules, and Aesculapius. The lower half of the composition is instead occupied by various characters divided into three groups. On the left, the Virtues stand out, represented according to the canons established, for example, by Cesare Ripa's Iconologia . Starting from the top, we can find Constancy, holding "with the left hand a naked sword over a large vase of burning fire"; Justice with the crown, the golden dress, the bundle of rods, and the scales; Fortitude leaning on the column, "because of the parts of the building, this is the strongest, which sustains the others"; Prudence looking in the mirror, showing "the knowledge of the prudent [of] not being able to regulate his actions, if he does not know and correct his own defects"; and Temperance mixing the liquids contained in two containers. Behind them... (See Giamblanco catalog 2015) [Simone Mattiello] MEASUREMENTS H x W x D Height cm: 49 Width cm: 65