Putti with Goats

Polidoro da Caravaggio depicted putti with goats around 1527, a pastoral subject drawn from the classical decorative repertoire. Such playful mythological scenes decorated the facades and interiors of Roman palaces before the catastrophic Sack of Rome. The painting is in the Royal Collection. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

The pastoral scene combines classical putti with goats in a composition derived from ancient Roman decorative motifs. Polidoro's fluid handling and rhythmic arrangement demonstrate his gift for ornamental design.