Image Details

The Art Archive/Palazzo d’Arco, Mantua, Italy/Dagli Orti

A man stands drinking in front of Theoderic’s brooding mausoleum in this 16th-century fresco by the Italian architect and painter Giovanni Falconetto. The painting, now in the Palazzo d’Arco in Mantua, Italy, is one of 12 panels depicting signs of the zodiac and other allegorical subjects.

Falconetto’s rendering includes a small portico, which appears to function as an entranceway to the second story of the tomb. According to author Harry Rand, however, the portico, supported by a colonnade, surrounded the entire structure, as shown in the reconstruction drawing.