PINTURICCHIO
(b. ca. 1454, Perugia, d. 1513, Siena)

Ceiling decoration

1492-94
Fresco
Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican

The picture shows a detail of the ceiling in the Sala dei Santi (Room of Saints). This section depicts the story of the Apis bull. The integration of this animal, venerated in ancient Egypt, into the decorative program of Alexander VI's private apartment served as a mythical explanation for the presence of bull in the Borgia family coat-of-arms.