Cephalus and Aurora

Follower of Louis Chéron c. 1706
Ceiling of the Fifth State Room
Oil on plaster, 4.62 x 7.85 m

The subject is taken from the work of the seventeenth centuryItalian poet Chiabrera. Aurora is preceded by Hesperus, the MorningStar. Proserpine, Ceres and Mercury are seen below. The repetition ofthe figures of Diana and the Cave of Night as seen on the ceiling ofthe Great Hall reinforces the argument cited in the text that thisceiling was the work of another hand, possibly Chéron'sassistant. There are no surviving drawings by Chéron for thiscomposition and there is no mention in the accounts for thepreparation of the plaster for painting.

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