Eleven Caesars. The Eleven Caesars was a series of eleven painted half-length portraits of Roman emperors made by Titian in 1536-40 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.
Titian was commissioned in 1536 to paint eleven portraits for the Gabinetto dei Cesari, one room in new suite at the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova designed by Giulio Romano, with decor inspired by ancient history. The suite, the Appartamento di Troia, 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 dimensio
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.
Titian was commissioned in 1536 to paint eleven portraits for the Gabinetto dei Cesari, one room in new suite at the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova designed by Giulio Romano, with decor inspired by ancient history. The suite, the Appartamento di Troia, 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 dimensio
Wikipedia ...