Page - 351 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

35�Projects for Emperor Ferdinand i slightly later one from Dobrovice castle, dating from ca. 1578, which has been preserved in Švihov castle in Southern Bohemia [Fig. 6.12].19 We have seen that Strada probably influenced the final appearance of the Innsbruck ceiling, by which it both became more up-to-date than originally planned and cor- responded more closely to the Emperor’s taste as demonstrated in the slightly earlier ceiling of the Vienna Ritterstube [Fig. 6.11]. The grosse Taflstube, however, seems to have been newly constructed or reconstructed at about this time, possibly in anticipation of the festive meeting of Ferdinand and his children, which was organized by Maximilian himself and was to take place in 1560.20 This afforded the opportunity of in- serting a ceiling where the load-bearing beams remain visible and determine its disposition [Fig. 6.13]. The greater depth and the strong articulation of the square and octagonal compartments result in a powerful and monumental composition. As we have seen, it was deemed sufficiently remarkable to be 19 Kunst der Renaissance 1979, Abb. 57; Renaissance in Böhmen 1985, p. 210; another simpler example is the ceiling in Častolovice, ca 1580 (ibid., p. 210 and. pl. 166–168). 20 Possibly the Taflstube was created by merging two adjoining smaller rooms. Figure 6.�� The ceiling in the Ritterstube of the Vienna Hofburg; detail of Fig. 5.76. Figure 6.�� Ceiling from Dobrovice castle, ca 1578; now in Švihov castle, Czechia.