Frieze for the Portico of Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano

Glazed terracotta frieze depicting figures engaged in agricultural activities.

Bertoldo di Giovanni (ca. 1440–1491) and collaborators
Frieze for the Portico of Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano, ca. 1490
Glazed terracotta
(Section 4): 22 7/8 × 109 1/4 in. (58 × 277.5 cm)
Villa Medicea di Poggio a Caiano, Polo Museale della Toscana
Gabinetto Fotografico delle Gallerie degli Uffizi

Representing the Seasons (the figures on the left) and Months (on the right), this section presents figures engaged in agricultural activities appropriate to various times of the year. Interpreted as illustrating the results of justice, this scene of peaceful production may allude to the fruits of the Medici's good governance and, more literally, to their agricultural production in Poggio a Caiano.

 

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