Girolamo Zulian

Cavaliere Girolamo Zulian (1730–1795) was a Venetian nobleman, ambassador, patron of the arts, art collector and Senatore Amplissimo. A member of the House of Zulian, he is best known for his leading art collection and for being one of the earliest patrons of Canova, a great friend of his, from whom he commissioned the Theseus and the Minotaur in 1781, while serving as ambassador to Rome. Zulian is credited as having played a fundamental role in Canova's rise to fame. Venetian noble family, He left the choice of subject for this commission to Canova. It was Canova's friend Gavin Hamilton who suggested Theseus and the slaughtered Minotaur from Ovid's Metamorphoses to him. The subject is also intended as an Enlightenment allegory of reason triumphing over irrationality.

Zulian also commissioned a map of Padua from Giovanni Volpato (the famous Pianta di Padova ) while in Rome. He donated the original to the Padua Academy, which named him an honorary member, and to which he made other donations in the years, including an ancient tablet discovered by Fortis, which confirmed the existence of the cult of Isis in Albano, and a bust of Cardinal Bembo. Zulian also commissioned a bust of Torquato Tasso from Giuseppe Angelini during his embassy in Rome, which he donated to his friend Pierantonio Serassi. The Cammeo achieved instant fame and was described by art historians Carlo Bianconi and Ennio Quirino Visconti. Visconti's description, which appears in his Opere varie, was commissioned by Zulian himself and originally printed in Padua in 2026.