Portrait of the emperor Julius Caesar (Rome 100 BC - 44 BC), inscribed above C. IVLIVS. CAESAR

Portrait of the Emperor Octavian Augustus (Rome 63 BC - 14 BC), inscribed on top OCTAVIANUS II ROM IMP

17th century

oil on canvas

Measurements (cm.): 65 x 50, with frame 81 x 68 cm.

The Latin writer Suetonius with his work 'De vita Caesarum' (and in particular with his tradition in the vernacular of 1543, edited by the Florentine scholar Paolo del Rosso) inspired Tiziano Vecellio who, in 1537, painted for Duke Frederick II of Gonzaga portraits of the eleven emperors, adorning the walls for a small room in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, later known as the Cabinet of the Caesars.

These effigies were intended to establish the link between the new era and classicism with its splendor, as well as to celebrate the value and wisdom of the rulers, who perceived themselves, in their lordships, as valiant new emperors.

Titian's paintings soon became enormously popular and many patrons and lords of the time, including Ferdinando d'Avalos, Marquis of Pescara and Governor of Milan or Vespasiano Gonzaga, turned to the workshop of the Cremonese Bernardino Campi to commission their own version of the series.

Given that Titian's originals were purchased by Charles I of England and then donated by him to the Spanish ambassador Alonso De Cardenas who took them to Madrid where they were destroyed in the fire of the Alcazar in 1734, it is therefore mainly thanks to the numerous replicas di Campi and his numerous followers and pupils, and other authors active between the 16th and 17th centuries, that the original works are known to us today.

Our pair of works, which depict the busts of two of the emperors who wrote the history of the Roman Empire, Gaius Julius Caesar (Rome 100 BC - 44 BC) and Octavian Augustus (Rome 63 BC - 14 BC), therefore in one of these numerous successive series of reproductions, and in particular they open to the inclination of his most direct followers, first of all to the expressive choices of Giovan Battista Trotti known as Malosso, his favorite disciple and Andrea Mainardi, also known as Keyghino and Raffaele Crespi , father of Cerano.

The paintings are in good condition of conservation.

Like all our objects, the work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive card.