-Tondo paintings are used to decorate open wall spaces in the interiors of palaces, churches, courthouses, etc (often using terra-cotta on plaster...depict religious/political scenes), or they stand alone -Other tondos depict a scene or concept from the artist's culture on a circular ceramic dish -3D tondos range from glazed ceramics to relief sculptures on stone/metal disks -tondos have also been a common architectural design element (under rounded arch or on pediments) since the renaissance -subjects include royal families, historical narratives (war), and religious figures (subject usually relates to the building/structure the tondo decorates)