Portraits of the emperors Julius Caesar and Octavian, Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 – Venice 1576) follower of

Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 – Venice 1576) follower of
– Portrait of the emperor Julius Caesar (Rome 100 BC- 44 BC), inscribed at the top C. IVLIVS. CAESAR
– Portrait of the emperor Octavian Augustus (Rome 63 BC- 14 BC), inscribed above OCTAVIANUS II ROM IMP

early seventeenth century
oil on canvas, 65 x 50 cm., with frame 81 x 68 cm.

Complete details of the proposed works: https://www.antichitacastelbarco.it/it/lavoro/tiziano-vecellio-seguece–ritratto-imperatori

The Latin writer Suetonius with his work 'De vita Caesarum' (and in particular with his vernacular tradition of 1543, edited by the Florentine scholar Paolo del Rosso) inspired Tiziano Vecellio who, in 1537, painted for Duke Federico II of Gonzaga's portraits of the eleven emperors adorned the walls of 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 Bernardino Campi from Cremona 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 above all thanks to the numerous replicas of Campi and his numerous followers and students, and of other authors active between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, that the original works are known to us today.

Our pair of works, which depicts 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), fits therefore in one of these numerous subsequent series of reproductions, and in particular they open up to the inclinations of his most direct followers, primarily to the expressive choices of Giovan Battista Trotti known as il Malosso, his favorite disciple and also Andrea Mainardi known as Chiaveghino and Raffaele Crespi , father of Cerano.
The paintings are in good conservation conditions.

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