Among the paintings that adorn the rooms of Palazzo Barberini in Rome, there is this beautiful canvas by Garofalo, depicting one of the most famous mythological metamorphoses: Pico's transformation into a woodpecker by the sorceress Circe. This painting is another example of how ancient mythology has served as a model for wonderful masterpieces, created in particular by Renaissance painters and beyond. As a local tour guide, I can tell you that Palazzo Barberini and its marvelous artistic treasure are worth a thorough visit. After all, there are works of various genres, like this one, which also brings us back to topics involving alchemy and mystery. But now, let's return to Garofalo's canvas, with its classic vibrant and powerful colors, and let's delve more deeply into the mythological episode it is inspired by.  

Pico was a king of Ausonia who, upon arriving in Rome, fell madly in love with a nymph named Canente, whom he married. Handsome, as narrated by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, Pico was also a skilled hunter. One day, along with his companions, he decided to go on a hunting expedition outside Rome, venturing as far as Circeo, the abode of the sorceress Circe, daughter of the Sun. She was gathering herbs when, at the sight of the bold young man, "marveled, letting drop the herbs she has gathered, and felt as though fire flooded through all her veins". She tried to approach Pico, but his companions warned him of the danger posed by the sorceress, and he distanced himself. Mad with love, Circe devised a plan. She conjured a fake boar that Pico immediately pursued. After catching up to it, intending to kill it, he dismounted but realized he had strayed too far from the group. Suddenly, the boar vanished, and Circe appeared, wasting no time in declaring her love to him. However, loyal to Canente, he rejected her, and consumed by great anger, Circe transformed him into a woodpecker! With its warm colors, in the late 1500s, Garofalo tells us the key episodes of the myth. In the background, a beautiful landscape serves as the backdrop, somewhat obscured and distant, creating an almost magical atmosphere. There is also a headland, which is that of Circeo. It is a classic composition, with groups of figures neatly arranged in the pictorial space. Beautiful to see and "read", as if it were a colorful comic strip. One of the many ways to experience a museum like Palazzo Barberini in Rome, where it's not enough to dwell on the technical aspects of a masterpiece, but also on what they draw their origins from.

I leave you with the words that tell us about the actual metamorphosis:"(Pico) sees his body feathered and, outraged that some new bird flies in the woods of Lazio, with a rigid beak he pierces the hard trees, and with anger strikes the long trunks. The feathers acquire the reddish color of his cloak: the clasp, the gold, which fastened his garment, now become feathers, and golden is his head, leaving only the name of Pico that he had".