Triumphs of Caesar (Mantegna)

The Triumphs of Caesar are a series of nine large paintings created by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna between 1484 and 1492[1] for the Gonzaga Ducal Palace, Mantua.

Acknowledged from the time of Mantegna as his greatest masterpiece, they remain the most complete pictorial representation of a Roman triumph ever attempted and together they form the world's largest metric area of Italian Renaissance paintings outside Italy.

Acquired by Charles I in 1629, they now form part of the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace near London, where they normally occupy a special gallery, with a new continuous frame intended to capture their original setting, mounted into panelling.

[3] Giorgio Vasari described them as follows: "We can see grouped and cleverly arranged in the Triumph the ornate and beautiful chariot, the figure of a man cursing the victorious hero, the victor's relations, the perfumes, incense and sacrifices, the priests, the bulls crowned for sacrifice, the prisoners, the booty captured by the troops, the rank of the squadrons, the elephants, the spoils, the victories and the cities represented in various chariots, along with a mass of trophies on spears, and with helmets and armor, the headgear of all kinds, ornaments and countless pieces of plate.

The Gonzaga dynasty died out in the male line, and the major part of their painting collection was acquired by Charles I of England in 1629, using as an agent in Italy, the courtier Daniel Nys.

It was chosen as a setting for the series, since it re-creates the interior of the Palace of San Sebastiano in Mantua, Italy, where the paintings were hung from 1506 in a specially built gallery.

Fry removed what Louis Laguerre had done a century before, and worked on and off for eleven years, with assistance from Paul Nash and Dora Carrington, to repaint parts of the canvas.

The art historian Frances Spalding holds that Fry made many poor artistic and technical decisions, "and, worst of all, they changed the Negro standard bearer into a Caucasian".

She said: ‘By examination under special filtered infrared light, we were able to detect the hidden figure of Helios, revealing a major change in the composition that proves Mantegna’s authorship.