of the Gallery's walls to the ficti

of the Gallery's walls to the fictive architectureof the vault, Annibale continued the loadbear￾ing theme of the actual pilasters with paintedatlases who prop up the feigned entablatureof the ceiling. They are frescoed in grisaille toimitate stone and take the form of hermswhose extremities below the hip are replacedby a tapered pillar.In this study for the herm at the right ofthe medallion of Salamacis and Hermaphrodite',Annibale defined the muscular contours andbulk of the body with long, loose strokes. Hebegan with a soft sketch and left the headindistinct. In the fresco the figure is lit sharplyfrom the left, leaving the right side in heavyshadow. Soft hatching, much of it smudged,creates such a mobile, pliant skin that the fig￾ure almost seems to breathe. Using a grittychalk or charcoal Annibale reinforced the con￾tours on the shadowed side. With a thin darkline he cut out the curves of the shoulder ofthe arm held behind the head to emphasize itssilhouette against the brightly lit body.From waist to thigh run thready contourlines indicating as many as half a dozen alter￾nate outlines of the hips. Having created sucha vital human form, Annibale then began theprocess of changing it into stone. He carvedaway the hips to the narrow silhouette of thetapered plinth of a herm, adjusting the con￾trapposto in the process. The drawing offers aglimpse of the extraordinary process of pétrifi￾cation in the Farnese, revealing how Annibale sfictive statues could appear so alive.In the fresco, the herm was given a morehieratic pose. His shoulders were squared and thehead turned frontally. Leonine hair and strongregular features were also introduced.1 G