Eleven Caesars
The Eleven Caesars was a series of eleven painted half-length portraits of Roman emperors made by Titian in 1536-1540 for Federico II, Duke of Mantua. They were among his best-known works, inspired by the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius. Titian's paintings were originally housed in a new room inside the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova. Bernardino Campi added a twelfth portrait in 1562.
The portraits were copied by Flemish engravers in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who added engravings of twelve Roman Empresses. Between 1627 and 1628 the paintings were sold to Charles I of England by Vincenzo II Gonzaga, and when the Royal Collection of Charles I was broken up and sold after his execution by the English Commonwealth, the Eleven Caesars passed in 1651 into the collection of Philip IV of Spain. They were all destroyed in a catastrophic fire at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in 1734, and are now only known from copies and engravings.
History
Titian was commissioned in 1536 to paint eleven portraits for the Gabinetto dei Cesari (sometimes Camerino dei Cesari, "Cabinet of the Caesars"), one room in new suite at the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova designed by Giulio Romano, with décor inspired by ancient history. The suite, the Appartamento di Troia ("Troy Apartments"), was named after the theme of the main room. Titian's portraits were inspired by Suetonius's account of the Lives of the Twelve Caesars and informed by Titian's study of ancient medals and busts. The dimensions of the room allowed three portraits on each wall, but a window on the west wall meant that only eleven painting were included in the decorative scheme. Titian's portraits were completed shortly before the death of Duke Federico in August 1540. Romano later added a portrait of the twelfth emperor, Domitian, displayed elsewhere.
The emperors were depicted in classical poses, wearing armour and flowing draped clothing, accompanied by various objects such as swords and staffs. The series ran clockwise around the top of the room, from Julius Caesar on the north wall to Titus on the west wall. Romano added frescos on the ceilings; stucco and niches to frame Titian's paintings; and a series of further paintings on wooden panels as a dado or basamento around the lower part of the walls, with a scene from the life of each emperor below the relevant portrait. Some of the works by Romano, or his workshop, designed to hang below Titian's portraits are in the British Royal Collection.[1]
Titian's eleven portraits were copied by Bernardino Campi in 1561 for Francesco Ferdinando d'Ávalos, governor of Milan. To Titian's eleven portraits, Campi added the twelfth Caesar, Domitian, in 1562, after the portrait by Romano. Campi returned to the subject several times, painting at least another four sets for other patrons.
Drawings of most of Titian's originals (but omitting the west wall) were made by Ippolito Andreasi for Jacopo Strada in about 1568. The portraits were engraved by Aegidius Sadeler II and published in Antwerp in about 1593, and then republished by Marcus Sadeler in about 1625. Both were court artists to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. The engravers added twelve accompanying empresses - eleven wives and Otho's mother, Albia Terentia - based on portraits by Giulio Romano. Each engraved portrait is accompanied by a poem in Latin. The engravings are an important source for the details of Renaissance armour, including examples attributed to Filippo Negroli.
The Gonzaga collection, including Titian's paintings, was sold by Vincenzo II Gonzaga to Charles I of England in 1628, but Charles's Royal Collection was broken up and auctioned under the English Commonwealth. The Titian portraits were sold for £1,200 in 1651 and bought by the Spanish Ambassador Alonso de Cárdenas, acting on behalf Don Luis Méndez de Haro, who gave them to Philip IV of Spain.
Titian's portraits were displayed at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, along with other portraits by Titian and Tintoretto, where the Galería del Mediodía (the South gallery) became known as the Galería de Retratos (Portrait Gallery). They were lost in the catastrophic fire that destroyed the Alcázar in 1734.
Gallery
Set of engravings with English commentary, after those of Aegidius Sadeler II (Antwerp c. 1593, and later editions), after the lost paintings by Titian.
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- Pompeia, wife of Julius Caesar
- Livia Drusilla, wife of Augustus
- Vipsania Agrippina, wife of Tiberius
- Milonia Caesonia, wife of Caligula
- Aelia Paetina, wife of Claudius
- Statilia Messalina, wife of Nero
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- Domitian, after Giulio Romano
- Aemilia Lepida, wife of Galba
- Albia Terentia, mother of Otho
- Petronia, wife of Vitellius
- Flavia Domitilla, wife of Vespasian
- Martia Fulvia (Marcia Furnilla), wife of Titus
- Domitia Longina, wife of Domitian
See also
References
- ^ Lucy Whitaker, Martin Clayton, The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection; Renaissance and Baroque, pp. 139-145, Royal Collection Publications, 2007, ISBN 978-1-902163-29-1
Sources
- F. Valcanover, L'opera completa di Tiziano, Milano 1969, p. 109 (in Italian)
- Titian Portraits of Roman Emperors and Empresses, George Glazer Gallery
- The Life of Titian, Carlo Ridolfi, Penn State Press, 2010, ISBN 027104053X, p.86
- Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance: Filippo Negroli and His Contemporaries, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Filippo Negroli, José-A. Godoy, Silvio Leydi, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), p.149-152
- Giulio Romano, Nero playing while Rome burns, from the Cabinet of the Caesars; Royal Collection
External links
- Short history
- After Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian, First half of the 18th century, A rare set of 24 portraits of Roman emperors and their consorts, in classical poses, dressed in armour and draped clothing, together with the personification of Rome, Alain R. Truong, 1 February 2015
- Catalogue of the Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Eric Chamberlain, Boydell & Brewer, 1993, ISBN 0859913325, p.31-34
- A set of six portraits of emperors, After Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian, Sotheby's, 25 April 2006
- Notices of the Life and Works of Titian, A. Hume, John Rodwell and Colnaghi, 1829, p.55-59
- The image of "the Twelve Caesars" from Titian to the end of the 17th century: images of military triumph of the Spanish monarchy, Margarita-Ana Vázquez-Manassero, in Actual problems of theory and history of art: Sun. researcher articles. 5. ed. S.v. Maltsev, E.y. Stanyukovich-Denisova, A.v. Zakharova. St. Petersburg: NP-print, 2015. S. 655–663. ISSN 2312-2129. https://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa155-7-71
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- Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter (1503–1506)
- A Man with a Quilted Sleeve (c. 1509)
- La Schiavona (1510–1512)
- A Man
- New York, c. 1512)
- (Indianapolis, c. 1515
- Shepherd with a Flute (c. 1510–1515)
- A Man in a Red Cap (c. 1510–1515)
- A Sick Man (1515)
- Jacopo Sannazaro (c. 1514–1518)
- Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma (c. 1515)
- A Knight of Malta (c. 1515)
- Vincenzo Mosti (c. 1520)
- Young Woman in a Black Dress (c. 1520)
- Man with a Glove (c. 1520)
- Laura Dianti (c. 1520–1525)
- Alfonso I d'Este (1523)
- A Lady (c. 1525–1565)
- Federico II Gonzaga (c. 1529)
- Giacomo di Andrea Dolfin (c. 1531–1532)
- Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page (1533)
- Charles V with a Dog (1533)
- Ippolito de' Medici (1532–1533)
- Giacomo Doria (1533–1535)
- Charles V (1533–1535)
- Isabella d'Este (1534–1536)
- La Bella (1536)
- Girl in a Fur (1536–1538)
- Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera (c. 1535–1540)
- A Man with a Falcon (c. 1537)
- Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (1538)
- Francesco Maria della Rovere (1538)
- Cardinal Pietro Bembo (1539–1540)
- Benedetto Varchi (c. 1540)
- Pope Sixtus IV (c. 1540)
- A Young Englishman (1540–1545)
- Ranuccio Farnese (c. 1542)
- Clarissa Strozzi (1542)
- The Vendramin Family (1543–1547)
- Pietro Aretino (1545)
- Lavinia Vecellio (c. 1545)
- Pope Paul III (1545–1546)
- Pope Paul III Wearing a Camauro (1545–1546)
- Pope Paul III and His Grandsons (1545–1546)
- Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1545–1546)
- Pier Luigi Farnese (1546)
- Andrea Gritti (c. 1546–1550)
- Charles V (on horseback) (1548)
- Charles V (seated) (1548)
- Isabella of Portugal (1548)
- John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (c. 1550–1551)
- A General (c. 1550)
- Philip II in Armour (1551)
- Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1552)
- Philip II (1554)
- Woman Holding an Apple (c. 1550–1555)
- Christina of Denmark (1555–1556)
- Girl with a Platter of Fruit (c. 1555–1558)
- Fabrizio Salvaresio (1558)
- An Unknown Lady (c. 1550–1560 – also attributed to Titian's workshop)
- Jacopo Strada (1567–1568)
- A Lady in White (c. 1561)
- Self-Portrait (1546–1547)
- Self-Portrait (c. 1560)
- Detroit Trio (c. 1500 – also attributed to Giorgione and others)
- The Birth of Adonis (c. 1506–1508)
- The Legend of Polydoros (c. 1506–1508)
- Justice (c. 1508)
- Pastoral Concert (c. 1509 – also attributed to Giorgione)
- Dresden Venus (with Giorgione, c. 1510)
- The Lovers (c. 1510 – attributed)
- The Three Ages of Man (c. 1512–1514)
- Sacred and Profane Love (c. 1514)
- The Feast of the Gods (1514)
- Venus and Cupid (1510–1515)
- Lucretia and her Husband (1515)
- The Bravo (c. 1515)
- Flora (c. 1515)
- Vanity (c. 1515)
- Violante (c. 1515)
- Woman with a Mirror (c. 1515)
- The Worship of Venus (1518–19)
- Venus Anadyomene (c. 1520)
- Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523)
- The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1523–1526)
- Allegory of Marriage (c. 1530–1535)
- Eleven Caesars (1536–1540)
- Venus of Urbino (1538)
- Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops (1540)
- Venus and Musician (several versions, 1540s–1570s)
- Tityus (1549)
- Sisyphus (1549)
- Danaë (several versions; 1543–1565)
- Venus and Adonis (several versions)
- Mars, Venus and Amor (c. 1550)
- Pardo Venus (1551)
- Venus with a Mirror (1555)
- Perseus and Andromeda (1554–1556)
- Diana and Actaeon (1556–1559)
- Diana and Callisto (1556–1559)
- The Death of Actaeon (c. 1559–1575)
- The Rape of Europa (c. 1560–1562)
- The Concert (c. 1543–1564)
- Venus Blindfolding Cupid (c. 1565)
- Allegory of Prudence (c. 1565–1570)
- Nymph and Shepherd (c. 1570)
- Tarquin and Lucretia (comp. 1571)
- Flaying of Marsyas (1570–1576)
- Christ Carrying the Cross (c. 1505 – also attributed to Giorgione)
- Bache Madonna (c. 1508)
- Flight into Egypt (c. 1508)
- Lochis Madonna (1508–1510)
- St. Mark Enthroned (c. 1510)
- The Gypsy Madonna (c. 1510)
- Holy Family with a Shepherd (c. 1510)
- Christ and the Adulteress
- Glasgow, c. 1510)
- (Vienna, c. 1520
- Madonna and Child with St Anthony of Padua and St Roch (c. 1511)
- The Resurrected Christ (c. 1511–12)
- Bapitsm of Christ (c. 1512)
- Virgin and Child with Saint Stephen, Saint Jerome and Saint Maurice (c. 1510–1525)
- Miracle of the Jealous Husband (1511)
- Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1512)
- Balbi Holy Conversation (c. 1513)
- Noli me tangere (c. 1514)
- The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (c. 1512–1514; c. 1540–1545)
- Salome
- Rome, c. 1515)
- (Madrid, c. 1550)
- (Private, c. 1570
- Madonna of the Cherries (1515)
- The Tribute Money (c. 1516)
- Assumption of the Virgin (1516–1518)
- The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy (1516–1518)
- Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Unidentified Saint (c. 1515–1520)
- Madonna and Child with Four Saints (c. 1516–1520)
- Pesaro Madonna (1519–1526)
- Madonna and Child with Three Saints (c. 1519)
- Gozzi Altarpiece (1520)
- Mary with Child and Saints Stephen, Jerome and Mauritius (c. 1520)
- Malchiostro Annunciation (c. 1520)
- The Entombment of Christ (c. 1520)
- Averoldi Polyptych (1520–1522)
- Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (1525)
- The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1529)
- Aldobrandini Madonna (1530)
- Madonna of the Rabbit (1530)
- Madonna of the Roses (c. 1530)
- Penitent Magdalene (1531)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1531)
- Pilgrims at Emmaus (c. 1533–1534)
- Supper at Emmaus (c. 1534; c. 1545)
- The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple (1534–1538)
- Saint John the Baptist (1540)
- Sciarra Madonna (c. 1540)
- The Crowning with Thorns (1542–43)
- Ecce Homo
- Vienna, 1543
- David and Goliath (c. 1542–1544)
- Abraham and Isaac (c. 1543–1544)
- Cain and Abel (c. 1543–1545)
- Serravalle Altarpiece (1548)
- Castello Roganzuolo Altarpiece (1549)
- The Fall of Man (c. 1550)
- Penitent Magdalene (c. 1550)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1552)
- The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (c. 1548–1559)
- La Gloria (1554)
- Christ Appearing to his Mother after his Resurrection (1554)
- Mater Dolorosa (c. 1555)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1575)
- Crucifixion (1558)
- The Entombment (1559)
- St Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1559)
- Annunciation (1559–1564)
- Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1560)
- Penitent Magdalene (1565)
- Saint Dominic (c. 1565)
- Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c. 1570)
- Religion saved by Spain (1572–1575)
- Saint Sebastian (c. 1575)
- The Crowning with Thorns (1576)
- Pietà (1576)