MANTEGNA, Andrea
(b. 1431, Isola di Cartura, d. 1506, Mantova)

Triumphs of Caesar (scene 5)

1485-95
Tempera on canvas, 267 x 278 cm
Royal Collection, Hampton Court

This scene shows trumpeters, youth leading oxen and elephants with attendants. An elephant was brought to Mantua in 1479. These animals were already known through stories of medieval origin. Here they are represented as being strangely small, their proportions quite unrealistic, which suggests they were probably painted from memory. Some of them are carrying enormous torches intended to illuminate the scene.