Caption

Ducal Palace: south-west wall of the “Bridal Chamber or Camera Picta", which is a room located in the north-east tower of the Castle of San Giorgio in Mantua. It is famous for the cycle of frescoes that covers its walls, a masterpiece by Andrea Mantegna, created between 1465 and 1474.
The wall, on the theme of “The Meeting” is divided into three sectors. In the one on the left the actual meeting takes place, in the central one some cherubs hold a dedicatory plaque and in the one on the right the marquis's court parades.
Detail of the right part of the wall.
The Marquis Ludovico is represented in the Meeting, this time in official guise, perhaps flanked by Ugolotto Gonzaga, son of his deceased brother Carlo. His son Francesco who is a Cardinal is in front of him. Below them are the sons of Federico I Gonzaga, Francesco and Sigismondo, while their father Federico is on the far right: the generous folds of his dress are a ploy to hide his kyphosis. Federico is in conversation with two characters, one in front and the other in the background, indicated by some as Christian I of Denmark
and Frederick III of Habsburg, figures who well represent the family's pride in royal kinship. Finally, the boy in the center is the last son of the marquis, the prothonotary Ludovico. In the background an ideal view of Rome is represented, in which there ancient monuments such as the Colosseum, Castel Sant'Angelo, the pyramid of Cestius, the theater of Marcellus, the Nomentano bridge, the Aurelian Walls, etc. cani be recognised. Mantegna also invented some monuments such as a colossal statue of Hercules. On the right there is also a cave where some quarrymen are at work sculpting blocks and columns.
Palazzo Ducale, Mantova (MN) - Mantua, Lombardia - Lombardy, Italia - Italy

Date

Oct 24, 2022

Credit line

Ghigo Roli/Photo12

Reference

GHR24A00_098

License type

Rights managed

Available size

381,4Mb (43,1Mb) / 47,2in x 31,4in / 14173 x 9407 (300dpi)

Keywords

Monumento Monument Italy Lombardia Lombardy Mantova Mantua Palazzo Ducale Ducal Palace Camera Picta Camera degli Sposi Bridal Chamber Andrea Mantegna Art Artwork Painting Affresco Fresco Rinascimento Renaissance Nobility Aristocracy Gonzaga XV Century Il Quattrocento 15th Century Ludovico II Gonzaga Marquis Court Courtier Pomp Wealth Ugolotto Gonzaga Francesco Gonzaga Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga King Christian I of Denmark Frederik III of Habsburg Roma Rome Colosseum Heracles Hercules Pyramid Cave Quarryman Monument

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