New Light on Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar

The painted series of the Triumphs of Caesar by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), all now in the Royal Collection at Hampton Conn, have been regarded as the artist's masterpieces since they were first completed in the late fifteenth century. The Gonzaga marchesi of Mantua proudly showed off the paintings to visiting dignitaries, including Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (1431-1505), in 1486 and Giovanni di P'ierfrancesco de' Medici (1467-1498) in 1494, even while they were still works in progress in Mantegna's studio. The recent reappearance of a drawing in a German private collection related to the series throws new light on this greatest of Gonzaga commissions and forms an important addition to the small group of associated graphic works.