Tribute to Caesar is a fresco measuring 502x536 cm by Andrea del Sarto and Alessandro Allori in the central hall of the villa medicea di Poggio a Caiano, Province of Prato, Italy. It dates to circa 1520 (first phase), and 1582 (second phase). [1]
The work was commissioned in the 1520s when the villa was being totally redecorated and redesigned. The earliest surviving frescoes in the villa such as the lunette Vertumnus and Pomono by Pontormo, elegiacally evoke rural life, but the building's main theme instead became the glorification of the Medici family after it acquired the titles of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours and Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino in 1520. [2]
Andrea del Sarto's work shows a laurel-wreathed Julius Caesar receiving ambassadors, with Caesar as a symbol or 'stand-in' for Lorenzo de' Medici. The animals brought by the ambassadors include (left background) the famous Medici giraffe, given to the family in 1487, possibly by Qaitbay, Sultan of Egypt. [3]
The work was originally in a trompe-l'œil loggia enclosed with columns, but by 1575 this scheme had begun to look limiting and other scenes had been added to most of the walls. del Sarto's fresco was thus extended by about a third on its right-hand side in 1582 by Alessandro Allori, from the statue of Abundance to the child with a turkey on the steps. The other statues shown in the work are Judith with the Head of Holofernes (alluding to Donatello's Judith and Holofernes , a symbol of Florentine civic power in the Palazzo Vecchio) and Justice (upper right).
Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.
Filippino Lippi was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.
Cristofano Allori was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Mannerist school, painting mostly portraits and religious subjects. Allori was born at Florence and received his first lessons in painting from his father, Alessandro Allori, but becoming dissatisfied with the hard anatomical drawing and cold coloring of the latter, he entered the studio of Gregorio Pagani, who was one of the leaders of the late Florentine school, which sought to unite the rich coloring of the Venetians with the Florentine attention to drawing. Allori also appears to have worked under Cigoli.
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a Renaissance-style, Catholic minor basilica in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. This is considered the mother church of the Servite Order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata near the city center.
Franciabigio was an Italian painter of the Florentine Renaissance. His true name may have been Francesco di Cristofano; he also is referred to as either Marcantonio Franciabigio or Francia Bigio.
Silvio Passerini was an Italian cardinal.
Villa del Poggio Imperiale is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, it was seized by the Medici, became the home of a homicidal and unfaithful husband, and a lavish retreat for a Grand Duchess with imperial pretensions. Later given to Napoleon's sister, it was reclaimed by the hereditary rulers of Tuscany before being finally converted to a prestigious girls' school. During its long history, it has often been at the centre of Italy's turbulent history, and has been rebuilt and redesigned many times.
Lodovico Cardi, also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years of his life in Rome.
Vertumnus and Pomona is a fresco decoration in the Medici country villa at Poggio a Caiano, executed c. 1519-1521 by Jacopo Pontormo. The villa is set among orchards and gardens, and in summer, served as a retreat from the heat in Florence.
Judith and Holofernes (1457–1464) is a bronze sculpture by the Italian Renaissance sculptor Donatello at the end of his career. It can be seen in the Hall of Lilies, in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. A copy stands in one of the sculpture's original positions on the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Poggio a Caiano is a town and comune in the province of Prato, Tuscany region Italy. The town, birthplace of Philip Mazzei, lies 9 kilometres (6 mi) south of the provincial capital of Prato.
The Medici giraffe was a giraffe presented to Lorenzo de' Medici in 1487 possibly by al-Ashraf Qaitbay, the Burji Sultan of Egypt, in an attempt to win the support of the Medici.
The decade of the 1460s in art involved some significant events.
The decade of the 1450s in art involved many significant events, especially in sculpture.
The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. They were also recreational resorts for the leisure and pleasure of their owners; and, more prosaically, they were the centre of agricultural activities on the surrounding estates. In 2013, the Medici villas were added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.
Andrea del Sarto was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. He was known as an outstanding fresco decorator, painter of altar-pieces, portraitist, draughtsman, and colorist. Although highly regarded during his lifetime as an artist senza errori, his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his contemporaries Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
Panciatichi Assumption is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea del Sarto, painted c. 1522-1523. It is housed in the Galleria Palatina of Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.
The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano, also called Ambra, is one of the most famous Medici villas and is located in Poggio a Caiano (Prato). Today it is state owned and it houses two museums: one of the historic apartments and the Museum of Still Life.
Tribute to Caesar may refer to:
Portrait of Cosimo the Elder is an oil on panel painting by Pontormo, executed c. 1519–1520, now in the Uffizi, Florence.