Ceiling Fresco with Medici Coat of Arms

Pietro da Cortona made this ceiling decoration featuring the Medici coat of arms, glorifying the powerful Florentine family. The composition uses illusionistic effects typical of Baroque ceiling painting to create a sense of grandeur.

Pietro da Cortona was a master of large-scale decorative painting in Rome and Florence. His ceilings transformed architecture into theatrical spectacle. This fresco is at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.