Mantua, Ducal Palace:
"Camera Picta: the Northeast Wall"

The north-east wall, together with the south-east one, is the one that has suffered the most from the ravages of time. Here too, remains of faux "gritty" draperies can be seen (rather ruined). However, the three lunettes are preserved quite well, with festoons and heraldic imprese. The first on the left is that of the "Fawn", an ancient Gonzaga impresa in which a fawn looks at a radiant sun, surrounded by a festoon with the motto BIDER CRAFT, which is interpreted as "against force" or "honest force". In the lunette on the right is the Impresa of the tower, dedicated to Ludovico II Gonzaga (1412-1478), second marquis of Mantua, and is probably to be interpreted as a symbol of firmness and resistance to adversity.