The Legend of the Infant Servius Tullius

Bonifacio de' Pitati's Legend of the Infant Servius Tullius depicts a scene from Roman legend in which the future king was miraculously crowned with flames as a child. Bonifacio, also known as Bonifacio Veronese, was a Venetian painter who ran a large workshop producing narrative paintings for churches and the Palazzo Ducale. His warm, colorful style perpetuated the traditions of Palma Vecchio and early Titian into the mid-16th century.

Bonifacio's oil-on-canvas technique demonstrates the warm Venetian palette and fluid brushwork of the Giorgionesque tradition. The narrative composition and rich coloring reflect the decorative function of Venetian narrative painting in both sacred and secular settings.