# Ceiling of the grand staircase [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DORIGNY, Louis]() - Date: 1651-1700 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary In 1701 the marquis Scipione Repeta engaged Vincenzan architect Francesco Muttoni to rebuild the old family palace located in Piazza San Lorenzo, Vicenza. The project was completed in 1711. The monumental double-flight staircase leading to the piano nobile was completed in 1707, according to the inscription above the arch next to the second landing. The ceiling of the staircase was frescoed by the French artist Louis Dorigny, who displayed a masterly skill in his use of perspective, opening up an oval space on the ceiling that frames a view of sky in which the scene Minerva Casting Out the Vices unfold. To the sides, four large, faux Palladian windows, half-hidden by groupings of clouds, hold two theologian virtues - Hope and Charity - and two cardinal virtues - Justice and Fortitude - all accompanied by their respective attributes. At the corners of the room, figures of the Vices are chained to strongly projecting rocks. Above the Vices are four rosy-toned monochrome oculi with putti engaged in virtuous activities. The twentieth-century restoration after 1950 irremediably compromised the ceiling fresco. ## Related artworks - [Bacchanal \(detail\)]() - [Bacchanal \(detail\)]() - [Bacchanal \(detail\)]() - [Bacchanal \(detail\)]() - [Bacchanal]() - [Ballroom ceiling \(detail\)]() - [Ballroom ceiling \(detail\)]() - [Ballroom ceiling \(detail\)]() - [Ceiling decoration]() - [Corridor ceiling \(detail\)]() - [Deception and Avarice]() - [Decoration of the ballroom]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()