Martyrdom of Saint Maurice and his Comrades

The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice and his Comrades (Latin: Passio Mauricii et sotiorum ejus) is an illuminated manuscript commissioned as a diplomatic gift to Giovanni Cossa by the Venetian general Jacopo Antonio Marcello (1399–1464).

1–5) addressed to Cossa and the knights of the Ordre du Croissant (a kind of covering letter of homage) makes excuses for being unable to be present at the Order's annual meeting and gives information of Venetian successes against Milan at Quinzano and Pontevico.

The central account was written first and is illustrated by 11 illuminated initials and 7 miniature paintings showing events in the saint's life and death.

[5] According to Thiébaut the miniatures show some similarities to early works by Giovanni such as his Pietas now in the Poldi Pezzoli and Brera collections in Milan.

[6] Nevertheless, the catalogue of the 2008 Mantegna exhibition states that most art historians still favour Jacopo as the works' artist,[7] though a 2018 article by Antonio Mazzotta fully accepts the attribution to Giovanni and uses it to identify Giovanni's youthful collaborations in works attributed to Jacopo.