The Four Elements

c. 1530

Giulio Romano

Associated Names
Giulio Romano

Artist, Roman, 1499 - 1546

The image shows a group of four individuals. The first seated person, to the left, is a muscular figure with short hair, using dividers against a surface near a large wheel. Next to them is a woman seated on a surface, wearing a draped garment and a headband, with long hair cascading down her back. The third individual, seated at the center, has a long beard and is dressed in long robes, resting their head thoughtfully on one hand. The standing figure on the right has short, flowing hair and is draped in loose fabric, holding a horn with both hands as if playing it. The background is minimal.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Pierre Crozat [1665-1740], Paris. Pierre-Jean Mariette, Paris [1694 - 1774](Lugt 1852). Marquis de Lagoy, Aix en Provence [1764 - 1829] (Lugt 1710). Thomas Dimsdale London [1758 - 1823](Lugt 2426). Sir Thomas Lawrence, London [1769 - 1830](Lugt 2445). Lord Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, London [1800 - 1857] (Lugt 2710b), and by descent; (his sale, Sotheby's London, 5 December 1972, no. 17); Herbert List [1903-1975], Munich (Lugt 4063); Ursula and Adolf Ratjen, for Wolfgang Ratjen; Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1836

  • Fifth Exhibition, Julio Romano, Francesco Primaticcio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Pierino del Vaga, Collected by Sir Thomas Lawrence..., The Lawrence Gallery, London, 1836, no. 12.

1989

  • Fürstenhöfe der Renaissance: Giulio Romano und die klassische Tradition. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Neue Burg. Vienna, 1989, 151, 153, no. IV/84 (essay by Konrad Oberhuber).

  • Giulio Romano, Palazzo Te, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua. Milan, 1989, 426 (entry by Konrad Oberhuber).

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung, Vaduz, 1995, no. 1.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 1 (David Lachenmann).

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2011, no. 1.

2020

  • Raphael and His Circle: Prints and Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2020, no cat.

Bibliography

1958

  • Hartt, Frederick. Giulio Romano. New Haven, 1958, 1: 89, 295, no. 141, 2: fig. 151.

2007

  • Giordano, Sebastiano. Una nuova lettura dell'allegorismo cinquecentesco. "Igne Natura Renovatur Integra: Dal chaos alla Redenzione" in Giulio Romano. in Atti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, series 9, vol. 21, fasc. 2. Rome, 2007: 433, fig. 75.

Wikidata ID

Q64572472

You may be interested in

Loading Results