A young warrior seated among pieces of armour and sculpture; Two prisoners seated among pieces of armour; and Fame seated among pieces of armour

As narrated by Antonio Campi (Cremona fedelissima, 1585, pp. xxvii-xxviii), when Emperor Charles V entered Cremona on 18 August 1541, he was greeted with a series of triumphal arches and ephemeral decorations and arches featuring motifs inspired by the antique and Imperial emblems. Antonio’s older brother, Giulio, and Camillo Boccaccino designed and produced the display, but most of the drawings usually connected to the entrata are Giulio’s (see G. Bora, I Campi, Milan, 1985, p. 285; J. Bober, ‘Cremonese Drawings for the Entry of Charles V’, Master Drawings, XXIII, no. 3, Fall 1988, pp. 219-32 and M. Tanzi, Disegni cremonesi del Cinquecento, Florence, 1999, pp. 46-50). These newly attributed sheets bear the hallmarks of Giulio’s style and can be linked, too, to the impresa of 1541, as they closely relate to the square panels designed for the commission now in the British Museum and Budapest (G. Bora, op. cit., no. 2.6.10, ill.; and D. Ekserdjian, Treasures from Budapest, London, 2010, no. 41, ill.). Strongly influenced by Parmigianino, Lelio Orsi and especially Giulio Romano – who executed the triumphal arches for the Emperor’s entrance in Milan – they reveal Campi’s decorative talent and ingenuity as a designer.

We are grateful to Giulio Bora for confirming the attribution to Giulio Campi from digital photographs.