1596
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Triumph of Julius Caesar: Frontispiece is a 1596 by Andrea Andreani, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a crowded parade of Romans in togas carrying gold, statues, and spoils from war. This isn’t a painting—it’s a print made from carved wood blocks, printed in brown ink. The artist copied a famous painting from 100 years earlier but used a printing trick called *chiaroscuro* to make shadows and shapes pop. The print copies a lost painting by Mantegna, showing Julius Caesar’s victory march. Each scene has tiny details: musicians, captured animals, even a guy carrying a fancy vase. Check out Andrea Andreani’s woodcut technique next.
Commissioned by Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, this series of chiaroscuro woodcuts reproduces Andrea Mantegna’s Triumph of Julius Caesar , painted a century earlier. The scenes imaginatively portray the triumphal procession of the renowned Roman general and consul Julius Caesar following his successful defeat of Gaul in 52 BC. Each section of the continuous frieze shows elements typical of these parades, sanctioned by the Roman Senate and described in ancient texts. The printed suite’s frontispiece features a portrait bust of Mantegna, and the text below boasts that the famous paintings attracted…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Andrea Andreani (1540–1623) was an Italian engraver on wood, who was among the first printmakers in Italy to use chiaroscuro, which required multiple colours.
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