.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This previously unrecorded work represents an important addition to the oeuvre of Hendrick Bloemaert. Dating from the period when Hendrick's father, Abraham, produced his last major religious works, and Hendrick took over from him in that field (perhaps even collaborating with him on some works), its monumental proportions suggest that it was an important commission for the artist.
The probable subject matter represents the moment when, in 452 A.D., Pope Leo I, on the instructions - and pleas - of the Emperor Valentinian and the Roman Senate, went to negotiate with Attila, the leader of the Huns, for the preservation and future safety of Rome. As it turned out, he was successful, having offered Attila an annual tribute in return for not plundering the city. Leo's healthy employment of realpolitik cemented the position of the Papacy as the leading Imperial political force in Italy in the last days of the Western Roman Empire, thereby laying the foundations for future ultramontane power and authority.
The present depiction would, however, be unusual, in truthfully presenting the Pope as a supplicant paying off the invading Attila, in contrast to the more traditional imagery of the Church, as described in the Golden Legend: 'He went out of the city and moved toward Attila and his band. The Hun, seeing the blessed Leo, dismounted, knelt at the Pope's feet, and begged him to ask for anything he wanted. Leo asked him to withdraw from Italy and to set his prisoners free. Attila's people protested: was the conqueror of the world to be conquered by a priest? Attila answered them: "I acted for my own good and yours! I saw standing at his right side a mighty warrior [i.e. Saint Peter] with his sword drawn, who said to me, 'Unless you obey this man, you and your people will perish!'"
The probable subject matter represents the moment when, in 452 A.D., Pope Leo I, on the instructions - and pleas - of the Emperor Valentinian and the Roman Senate, went to negotiate with Attila, the leader of the Huns, for the preservation and future safety of Rome. As it turned out, he was successful, having offered Attila an annual tribute in return for not plundering the city. Leo's healthy employment of realpolitik cemented the position of the Papacy as the leading Imperial political force in Italy in the last days of the Western Roman Empire, thereby laying the foundations for future ultramontane power and authority.
The present depiction would, however, be unusual, in truthfully presenting the Pope as a supplicant paying off the invading Attila, in contrast to the more traditional imagery of the Church, as described in the Golden Legend: 'He went out of the city and moved toward Attila and his band. The Hun, seeing the blessed Leo, dismounted, knelt at the Pope's feet, and begged him to ask for anything he wanted. Leo asked him to withdraw from Italy and to set his prisoners free. Attila's people protested: was the conqueror of the world to be conquered by a priest? Attila answered them: "I acted for my own good and yours! I saw standing at his right side a mighty warrior [i.e. Saint Peter] with his sword drawn, who said to me, 'Unless you obey this man, you and your people will perish!'"