Giorgio Vasari’s praise for the series of paintings made by Andrea Mantegna between around 1485 and 1506 is a fitting tribute to a remarkable ensemble of pictures. Showing the triumphal procession of the victorious armies of Julius Caesar, six of the nine paintings are currently generously on loan to the National Gallery from the Royal Collection. 

This lunchtime talk will introduce the series and discuss the origins and sources of Mantena’s great canvases. It will investigate how the painter adapted and combined these together and how the series shows his fascination with the ancient past. The paintings are not just remarkable in themselves, however, and the talk will also discuss the history and afterlives of the pictures, considering their enduring fame and how they continued to inspire generations of later artists.