The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Master of the Apollini Sacrum

Artwork Overview

Master of the Apollini Sacrum, The Assassination of Julius Caesar
Master of the Apollini Sacrum, The Assassination of Julius Caesar
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
late 1400s
active 1480–1500
The Assassination of Julius Caesar, late 1400s
Where object was made: Republic of Florence (present-day Italy)
Material/technique: tempera; wood
Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 44.5 x 151.1 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 17 1/2 x 59 1/2 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 24 1/4 x 65 1/4 x 4 1/4 in
Credit line: Gift from the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection
Accession number: 1960.0048
On display: Loo Gallery
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Images

Label texts

Label 2009: Archive Label 2003: This panel depicts the death of Julius Caesar in a continuous narrative, with four sequential scenes in one setting. The story reads from left to right: priests warn Caesar not to go to the Senate; Caesar refuses to look at the scroll that identifies the conspirators and their plans; conspirators stab Caesar at the Senate; Caesar is placed in honor on his funeral pyre. Though the costumes and setting are late fifteenth-century Italian, viewers at that time would have been familiar with the story of Julius Caesar and would have understood the narrative as a depiction of ancient Rome. The artist included Trajan’s column, a key monument, at the far right to emphasize this point. This painting decorated a cassone (kah-SOE-nay), one of a pair of wedding chests that a groom ordered for his bedchamber. Fifteenth-century Italians traced their ancestry back to the ancient Romans. Images of their forebears’ lives reflect pride in their lineage. This association is appropriate for a room concerned with the continuance of the family line.

Resources

Audio

Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
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Links

View a cassone with painted panels at the Metropolitan Museum of Art