The Triumph of Caesar

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

This grand procession celebrates Roman leader Julius Caesar’s (100 BCE–44 BCE) military victories in the Gallic Wars (58 to 50 BCE) fought in the territories of modern-day France and beyond. Trumpeters and banner carriers lead the way, then come heroes, chariots, trophy bearers, soldiers, captives, booty, horses, oxen, goats, and elephants. Onlookers gather in palaces and loggias and on top of aqueducts to witness the magnificence. At the rear, as the parade passes a triumphal arch, a shield reading “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came. I saw. I conquered.) announces the arrival of Julius Caesar—then a general—aboard his richly ornamented coach. He holds a staff and palm frond as Fame, personified as a winged angel, crowns him with laurels. The design is based on a spectacular, colorful cycle of nine large paintings made by Andrea Mantegna, one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. He made them for Francesco II Gonzaga Marquess of Mantua in 1485. Francesco’s great grandson, Vincenzo I Gonzaga financed the production of this exceptionally large print made by Andrea Andreani. Italy, Europe