Julius Caesar on Horseback
1594

About the Item

Provenance: Private Collection, South America Antonio Tempesta began his career in Florence, working on the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio under the direction of Giorgio Vasari. He was a pupil first of Santi di Tito, then of Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus—two of the most prominent late Mannerist painters active in Florence. In the 1570s and 1580s Tempesta worked for a series of important Roman patrons, mostly painting large fresco decorations. These include work in the Vatican Palace and in the Church of San Stefano Rotondo, both for Pope Gregory XIII; the Roman palaces of the Giustiniani and Rospigliosi; at the Villa Lante in Bagnaia, the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, and the Villa d’Este in Tivoli. However, Tempesta’s fame rests less on his large fresco decorations than on his work as both a printmaker and as a painter of battle scenes. Between 1589 and 1627 Tempesta produced over one thousand prints, including single sheets and series, etchings and engravings of hunting scenes, topographical views, as well as historical and mythological subjects. The present work relates to an etching of 1594 by Tempesta depicting Julius Caesar on horseback (Fig. 1), part of his series “The First Twelve Roman Caesars.” So much of the artist’s output was as a printmaker of etchings and engravings, but while his prints were distributed throughout Europe, Tempesta’s paintings remained largely in the collections of his Roman patrons. The relationship of our painting to the print is unclear. Was it Tempesta’s own model, which he later translated into a print? Or was the monumental painting based on the print? The presence of the battle scene in the painting --a vignette typical of Tempesta’s compositions (and not included in the etching)-- suggests that our painting was likely primary. The canvas is monumental in scale and is adorned with an original 17th-century frame, of typical Bolognese style. Julius Caesar is seen on a rearing horse seen from behind. He is dressed in armor and wields a military baton as he overlooks a battle unfolding in the background. No doubt painted for a large palace or villa, this painting evokes Julius Caesar’s position as a heroic figure in the Renaissance –as general, as author, and as emperor.

Attributed to:
Antonio Tempesta (1555 - 1630, Italian)
Creation Year:
1594
Dimensions:
Height: 79.5 in (201.93 cm)Width: 62 in (157.48 cm)
Medium:
Oil,Canvas
Movement & Style:
Old Masters
Period:
16th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU10213350192
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