Ovid’s Legacy on Trial. Aristocratic Gender Roles in the Painted Vaults of Two Noble 18th-century Palaces in Macerata

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to analyse two cycles of paintings, decorating two noble palaces in the city of Macerata (in the Marche Region in Italy), from the perspective of “decolonizing classics”. The vaults of Palazzo De Vico and Palazzo Costa have been painted in the 18th century on the occasion of two weddings and they are decorated with subjects derived from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and other literary tales, displaying aristocratic gender roles. In the complex decorative system of Palazzo De Vico, stories from Roman wars were used in the rooms frequented by men and mythical love tales for rooms intended for women. In particular, one of the rooms, which was most likely a bedroom, is decorated with four images of mythical abductions or rapes, depicting a model of passivity and submission for the woman. In Palazzo Costa the two main rooms are decorated with the myth of Ariadne (abandoned by Theseus and then married by Baccus) and with the myth of Phaeton (punished for his haughtiness), mirroring the virtues required from the bride and the groom. The woman is provided with a model for the perfect wife, while the man is urged to be temperate, avoiding pride.