One of four large copies (RCIN 991106-9) after designs for the walls of the Sala dei Giganti ('Room of the Giants') in Palazzo Te, Federico Gonzaga's suburban palazzo on the edge of Mantua. The room is frescoed throughout with a single continuous scene of The Giants buried under Pelion and Ossa. The vault is constructed without groins, and the ceiling merges imperceptibly with the walls: above, in a dizzying perspective, Jupiter surrounded by his fellow gods hurls down thunderbolts, while all around mountains and buildings collapse onto the rebellious giants. In its original state the doors to the room were also painted, so as not to break the illusion, and the dim and flickering light from a fireplace further suppressed the spectators' points of reference. This is one of the first attempts in the Renaissance to create a completely enveloping space; it is arguably the most audacious decorative scheme of the sixteenth century, and retains a thrilling potency even in its present adulterated state. The frescoes were executed between March 1532 and September 1534 by Giulio's assistants Fermo da Caravaggio, Rinaldo Mantovano and Luca da Faenza. 

These four copies, apparently by the same hand, are not squared or indented, and it is unlikely that they served as preparatory sheets, but their size and level of finish shows that great care was taken over their production. George III’s Inventory A states that they were given by Giulio to Baldassare Castiglione: this cannot be true as Castiglione died three years before work on the Sala began, but they may indeed have been produced as a souvenir of the room and of Giulio's imagination for some equally eminent visitor to Federico Gonzaga’s palazzo.