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Lot Essay
This picture relates to a design by Stradano for the Mediceae Familiae Rerum Feliciter Gestarum Victoriae et Triumphi, a most lavish production with twenty plates eulogising the Medici family engraved by Philip Galle in 1583 (see A. Vannucci, Jan Van Der Straet detto Giovanni Stradano; flandrus pictor et inventor, Milan, 1997, p. 364 and p. 259 for the drawing).
The subject of the present picture is the famous condottiero Giovanni de' Medici, known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, killing an opponent in a duel. In the cycle of pictures it follows a plate showing the Seige of Milan and precedes one of Giovanni received by King François I of France. Thus the image of Giovanni's personal bravery is contrasted with his other admirable qualities of wisdom in strategy and courtliness.
The subject of the present picture is the famous condottiero Giovanni de' Medici, known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, killing an opponent in a duel. In the cycle of pictures it follows a plate showing the Seige of Milan and precedes one of Giovanni received by King François I of France. Thus the image of Giovanni's personal bravery is contrasted with his other admirable qualities of wisdom in strategy and courtliness.