Eleven Caesars
The Eleven Caesars was a series of eleven painted half-length portraits of
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
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
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
The Gonzaga collection, including Titian's paintings, was sold by
Titian's portraits were displayed at the
Gallery
Set of engravings with English commentary, after those of
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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 -
-
-
-
-
-
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
,_wife_of_Titus,_Emperor_of_Wellcome_L0050556.jpg)
See also
References
- 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