Minneapolis Institute of Art

Handover of a Fortified City to Emperor Maximilian I

Austria (Tyrol)

Date

c. 1508–1519

Medium

Tempera and oil on pine panel

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) was one of the great soldier kings of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. He was perpetually at war, fighting in 27 major conflicts across Europe, often on the offensive. Maximilian's military prowess and knightly image are the subject of this rare surviving battle painting. The inscription on his horse's bridle "CAES[AR] MAXIMILIANI" indicates that the painted dates to after Maximilian became emperor in 1508. He is depicted in resplendent golden armor, leading his victorious cavalry to accept the surrender of the conquered town. A bishop blesses the conqueror, while two men solemnly genuflect and hand him their city's key and cermonial sword--attributes that make the figures reminiscent of Saint Peter and Paul. The city in the background resembles Verona as it appeared in a well-known woodcut of 1493, suggesting the picture commemorates Maximilian's occupation the city in 1509 during the War of the League of Cambrai against Venice. It could also represent the French town depicted by Wolf Traut in Maximilian's Triumphal Arch (1515-17) capitulating to the emperor when he freed his daughter, Margaret of Austria, from captivity. Margaret had been held at Melun after her fiancé, King Charles VIII of France, had broken their engagement to marry Anne of Brittany. Anne's 1490 marriage to Maximilian by proxy was annulled to validate the French marriage. Following the Peace of Senlis in 1493, Margaret left Melun with her Burgundian territories restored. Anne's personal emblem, the ermine, might be directly alluded to in the fur collars of the defeated officials. [R. McGarry 2025]

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