Lunette raffiguranti la Fortezza, la Giustizia, la Prudenza e la Temperanza

On the occasion of the exhibition Appiani. Neoclassicism in Milan, scheduled until January 11, 2026, the four large lunettes with allegorical figures that the “Painter of Graces” created in the Throne Room in 1808 have been returned to Palazzo Reale after over seventy years. Depicting Fortress, Justice, Prudence, and Temperance, the lunettes belonged to the celebratory cycle “Apotheosis of Napoleon,” commissioned by Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais as decorative apparatus for Palazzo Reale, chosen as the official residence of the new Napoleonic monarchy. The task was entrusted to Andrea Appiani, the painter favored by Bonaparte, appointed “First Court Painter.” For the Throne Room of the palace, the artist conceived this monumental fresco decoration, characterized by a geometric partition culminating in a large octagon, within which the figure of Napoleon seated on a throne in the guise of Jupiter was represented. Surrounding it were panels depicting winged victories and the four semicircular lunettes representing the cardinal virtues.
Damaged by Allied bombings in 1943, the surviving frescoes were detached and later transferred to Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina.
Palazzo Reale has succeeded in the enterprise of bringing the lunettes back to their production context, offering visitors the opportunity to rediscover a jewel of the palace’s decorative heritage, which remained “secret” for a long time. Currently exhibited in the Hall of the Four Columns, the lunettes will be repositioned in their original location upon completion of the restoration project of the Throne Room