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Taddeo at the Entrance to Rome Greeted by Toil, Servitude, and Hardship, and by Obedience and Patience (the Ass and Ox) (99.GA.6.4)

Creator

Italian Artist · 1541–1609

After Titian's death in 1576, Federico Zuccaro may have been the most famous painter in Europe as well as the most influential, traveling widely and creating a huge number of works, largely of religious subjects. The son of a painter in Urbino, he absorbed Mannerism in Rome under his brother Taddeo, who was a dozen years his senior. When Taddeo died in 1566, Federico took over his flourishing prac

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Date: about 1595
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush with brown wash, over black chalk
Culture: Italian
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

Carrying the yoke, symbol of servitude or obedience in his arms, Taddeo Zuccaro enters Rome through one of the city's gates. The tall, gaunt figure of Servitude welcomes him, and Hardship and Toil peer over her shoulders at the young boy, predicting the hardships he will encounter in the city. Federico Zuccaro labeled each figure so that there would be no mistaking their identity. The ox and ass, representing Fortitude and Patience graze off to the side. Federico placed many of these scenes from his brother's life in exact locations that are easily identifiable. The tower of Old Saint Peter's and Michelangelo's new domed Saint Peter's basilica under construction are visible beyond the city wall. The hoists, ropes, and supports used to build the dome project from the top. The obelisk to the left of the tower was moved from that location to Saint Peter's Square in the 1590s.

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