La stregoneria (Allegoria di Ercole)

An old inventory called this a picture of the court jesters of the dukes of Ferrara, and that is the key to its strangeness. Dosso Dossi worked for the Este court at Ferrara, and around 1535 the reigning duke was Ercole II, Ercole being the Italian for Hercules. So the hero every ruler liked to be compared with is here turned into a joke. Instead of performing his mighty labours, this Hercules is an aging man crowned with roses, pulled into a rowdy game of spheres that was a favourite pastime at the Ferrarese court, while grinning fools crowd around him. It was almost certainly painted to order for the duke himself, a piece of courtly humour meant to be understood only by insiders.