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The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Giorgio Vasari, Palazzo Vecchio)

Greco-Roman Art

A fresco by Giorgio Vasari, painted with the assistance of Cristofano Gherardi around 1560 to 1564 in the Sala di Cosimo I of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, part of a larger decorative programme of mythological and allegorical scenes commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici. It illustrates the episode from Hesiod's Theogony in which Gaia, angered at her husband Uranus for imprisoning their children, gives their son Cronus (Saturn) an adamantine sickle and urges him to attack his father; the fresco shows Saturn wielding the sickle over a reclining, anguished Uranus, surrounded by attendant deities and personifications witnessing the act. The castration of Uranus was understood in the classical tradition as the moment that separated Sky from Earth and produced, from the god's severed member and the sea foam around it, the birth of Aphrodite.

Facts
Physical Form
MediumSourced to the subject's own account
Fresco 1
Custody
Current LocationSourced to the subject's own account
Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy 1
Current CustodianSourced to the subject's own account
Musei Civici Fiorentini (Palazzo Vecchio) 1
Origins
CreationSourced to the subject's own account
1560 to 1564 2
CountrySourced to the subject's own account
Italy 1
Classification
Object TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Mural or Fresco 1
Medium (class)Sourced to the subject's own account
Fresco 2
Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectSourced to the subject's own account
Cronus (Saturn) castrating his father Uranus with a sickle, at the urging of Gaia, watched by attendant deities. 1
Rights and Reproduction
Reproduction and CopyrightSourced to the subject's own account
This atlas describes and cites the fresco rather than reproducing an image of it. 2
Connections

Associated With

Aphrodite, Deities

This source names Aphrodite directly: "the sea foam around it, the birth of Aphrodite."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Aphrodite, Figures

This source names Aphrodite directly: "the sea foam around it, the birth of Aphrodite."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Cronus, Deities

This source names Cronus directly: "their children, gives their son Cronus (Saturn) an adamantine sickle and urges him to attack his father; the fresco shows Saturn wielding the sickle over a reclining, anguished Uranus, surrounded by..."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Cronus, Figures

This source names Cronus directly: "their children, gives their son Cronus (Saturn) an adamantine sickle and urges him to attack his father; the fresco shows Saturn wielding the sickle over a reclining, anguished Uranus, surrounded by..."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Florence, Cities

This source names Florence directly: "di Cosimo I of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, part of a larger decorative programme of mythological and allegorical scenes commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Gaia, Deities

This source names Gaia directly: "It illustrates the episode from Hesiod's Theogony in which Gaia, angered at her husband Uranus for imprisoning their children, gives their son Cronus (Saturn) an adamantine sickle and urges him to..."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
Gaia, Figures

This source names Gaia directly: "It illustrates the episode from Hesiod's Theogony in which Gaia, angered at her husband Uranus for imprisoning their children, gives their son Cronus (Saturn) an adamantine sickle and urges him to..."

Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia

Depicts

Uranos, Deities
Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia

Originated In

Italy, Regions
Source The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
In the Other Atlases

Authored By

Also in Arts and Music Atlas: the author of this subject.

Sources
1. The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus), World History Encyclopedia
World History Encyclopedia
  • catalogue record, medium/object-type description
    A fresco by Giorgio Vasari, painted with the assistance of Cristofano Gherardi around 1560 to 1564 in the Sala di Cosimo I of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, part of a larger decorative programme of mythological and allegorical scenes commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici.
  • Originated In: Italy, Stored country property on this entity, cited to this source: Italy
View the Source
2. The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, Artchive
Italian Renaissance art (Wikipedia)
In Group: Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art, fresco by Giorgio Vasari, painted around 1560 to 1564, Palazzo VecchioView the Source
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