Leonardo’s suggestions on the fresco of the Nozze di Alessandro e Rossane by Sodoma in the Farnesina

Abstract

The essay analyses Leonardo's influence on the fresco of the Nozze di Alessandro e Rossane by Giovan Antonio Bazzi known as Sodoma in the Villa Farnesina in Rome. The question is not new in studies; however, the arguments presented are new.

Sodoma's frescoes in the villa of Agostino Chigi are undated and are, therefore, variously placed by scholars. The most accepted hypothesis is that they were made between 1518 and 1519 when the renovation of the second floor took place while the decoration of the Loggia di Amore e Psiche on the first was completed. The article analysing the landscape of the Nozze proposes precise comparisons with that of Leda Borghese, a painting that originates from Leonardo's drawings. Its organisation – leaning sideways on a mountainous spur along a river – highlights typical elements of Leonardo and his pupils. This proximity suggests and reinforces the previously advanced hypothesis, based on stylistic grounds, considering the strong adherence to Leonardo's “sfumato”, that the fresco should be dated between 1516 and 1517. In Rome, Sodoma would have been affected in the work by direct contact with Leonardo and his pupils, who would have been there at the end of their stay (1513-1516/17).

A confirmation of the stylistic analysis also seems to come from the documentary. The will of the estate left by Sodoma upon his death in 1548 records the possession of "a painting of Leda," a subject to which Leonardo himself gave a significant impetus by making it the protagonist of an image for the first time.