Camera degli Sposi

[3][4] The Camera is located on the first floor of a northeastern tower in the private section of the Ducal Palace, with windows on the northern and eastern walls, overlooking Lago di Mezzo.

[6][5][7] The semi-private functions of the room helped to create an air of exclusiveness to the Camera degli Sposi that was meant to impress viewer with the wealth and cultural prestige of the Gonzaga without an overt or gaudy display.

[1] The effect of Mantegna's illusionistic painting that is suggestive of a classical pavilion is complete with subtle shifts in vantage points that make each fictive element of the illusion seem real to the viewer.

[9] The southern and eastern walls appear to be veiled by golden brocaded curtains that mimic the ones that would have been used for the canopy of Ludovico's beds, the hooks for which are still in the ceiling above the southeastern corner of the room.

[4] The whole scene is illusionistically painted as if the figures are resting on the mantel of the fireplace, exhibiting Mantegna's masterful ability to blend fictive and existing architectural elements together in his work.

[1] From the note in his hand and his consultation of his secretary, it appears to the viewer that they have caught Ludovico in his private routine of governing although there have been arguments made that this is a particular moment in time, either the receipt of a letter from Francesco Sforza delivering word that he is ill or the commissioning document for the Camera degli Sposi.

[14] From the fictive columns that separate the different scenes on the walls (capped with real stone corbels), rise illusionistic ribs embossed with scroll work that divides the ceiling into sections.

[8][1] In the corbeled sections between the vaults are illusionistic relief carvings from the lives of Arion, Orpheus, and Hercules set in painted gold mosaic that harken back to antiquity.