Lot Essay
A design for the decoration of the south side of the triumphal arch near San Silvestro in Mantua, erected on the occasion of the entry of King Henry III of France and Poland on 2 August 1574. The entire decoration had to be executed within two weeks, since it was only around 20 July 1574 that the citizens of Mantua learned that the King would actually visit their city.
Little is known of the designer of the festival apparatus, which included the decoration of eight arches; it has been suggested, however, that Giovanni Battista Bertani was most probably the artist responsible for the project. Bertani, a pupil of Giulio Romano, was then the court architect in Mantua and had already been involved in the execution of several festival decorations, E. Marani, Architettura, Mantova, Le arti, III, Mantua, 1965, p. 30.
The decoration is known through several sources. A contemporary description is preserved at the Archivio Gonzaga, Mantua, P. de Nolhac and A. Solerti, Il viaggio in Italia di Enrico III Re di Francia e le feste a Venezia, Ferrara, Mantova e Torino, Rome, 1890, p. 334-6. Another was published in Venice in 1574 and, two years later, Bernard de Vigenère published a description including engravings of the triumphal arches, B.D. Vigenère, La somptueuse et magnifique entrée du tres-chrestien Roy de France & de Pologne, grand Duc de Lithuanie, &c. En la cité de Mantoue, avec les portraits des choses les plus exquises, Paris, 1576, p. 21-6. The present drawing precisely matches the engraving of the decoration of the arch of San Silvestro, published by Vigenère, p. 27, pl. III. Only the two small compartments above the statues in the upper part of the arch are not present in the print.
The drawing shows the south side of the arch through which the king reached the Piazza del Duomo coming from the Porta del Tè in the south of the city. The drawing also shows iconographical details concerning the decoration of the north side towards the church of Sant'Andrea and the Duomo.
Two drawings by the same hand, most probably related to the same decorations, were sold in these Rooms, 9 April 1990, lot 17 and 18 (fig. 1). All three are inscribed with the same monogram 'PAP' in a heart surmounted with a cross.
We are very grateful to Dr. Hans A. Aurenhammer for his help in cataloguing this drawing.
Little is known of the designer of the festival apparatus, which included the decoration of eight arches; it has been suggested, however, that Giovanni Battista Bertani was most probably the artist responsible for the project. Bertani, a pupil of Giulio Romano, was then the court architect in Mantua and had already been involved in the execution of several festival decorations, E. Marani, Architettura, Mantova, Le arti, III, Mantua, 1965, p. 30.
The decoration is known through several sources. A contemporary description is preserved at the Archivio Gonzaga, Mantua, P. de Nolhac and A. Solerti, Il viaggio in Italia di Enrico III Re di Francia e le feste a Venezia, Ferrara, Mantova e Torino, Rome, 1890, p. 334-6. Another was published in Venice in 1574 and, two years later, Bernard de Vigenère published a description including engravings of the triumphal arches, B.D. Vigenère, La somptueuse et magnifique entrée du tres-chrestien Roy de France & de Pologne, grand Duc de Lithuanie, &c. En la cité de Mantoue, avec les portraits des choses les plus exquises, Paris, 1576, p. 21-6. The present drawing precisely matches the engraving of the decoration of the arch of San Silvestro, published by Vigenère, p. 27, pl. III. Only the two small compartments above the statues in the upper part of the arch are not present in the print.
The drawing shows the south side of the arch through which the king reached the Piazza del Duomo coming from the Porta del Tè in the south of the city. The drawing also shows iconographical details concerning the decoration of the north side towards the church of Sant'Andrea and the Duomo.
Two drawings by the same hand, most probably related to the same decorations, were sold in these Rooms, 9 April 1990, lot 17 and 18 (fig. 1). All three are inscribed with the same monogram 'PAP' in a heart surmounted with a cross.
We are very grateful to Dr. Hans A. Aurenhammer for his help in cataloguing this drawing.