Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Triumph of Caesar

Andrea Andreani; after Andrea Mantegna; after Bernardo Malpizzi (intermediate draftsman)

Date

1595–99

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut printed in grayish-black, beige, and gray ink on multiple sheets of paper

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

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

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.