The Triumph of Galatea

The engraving reproduces a famous Raphael fresco from the Roman Villa Farnesina, built by the architect and painter Baldassare Peruzzi for the rich Siena banker Agostino Chigi on the riverbank of the Tiber near the Vatican in the early 16th century. Apart from Peruzzi, other artists participating in the decoration of the house were Sebastiano del Piombo and Raphael and artists of his school with their elegant paintings. In the late 16th century, the new owner of the villa became Cardinal Alessandro Farnese after whom it received its name. The work features the Nereid (sea nymph) Galatea as carried away by the waves while seated on a large shell moved by dolphins and surrounded by tritons, nymphs and cupids.