La chimenea genovesa del Palacio de Carlos V y el mito de Leda

Abstract

A comparison between the fireplace in the Fine Arts Museum in the Palace of Carlos V, Granada, with those of other Genoese palaces, leads the authors of this paper to believe that it was made in the workshop of Gian Giacomo della Porta in Genoa during the decade of 1540. The political and artistic connections of Admira( Alvaro de Bazán with Genoa could account for the presence of this fireplace in Granada. The most interesting characteristic about it is the relief which represents the motif of Leda and the Swan, uncommon during the Renaissance; it originates from a roman copy of hellenistic design, the oldest known example of which is a relief of the III century B.C. from Argos, to be found in the British Museum.