The Triumphs of Caesar IV: The Vase-Bearers

The fourth canvas of Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar series at Hampton Court depicts the vase-bearers — figures carrying the elaborate vessels of precious metal seized as spoils of war. The captured treasures displayed in Roman triumphs were crucial demonstrations of military success and imperial wealth, and Mantegna renders them with the loving archaeological precision of a humanist scholar. This canvas demonstrates the artist's intimate knowledge of ancient decorative arts, with the vases and vessels based on his study of surviving Roman metalwork and the descriptions in ancient texts by Plutarch and Josephus.

The vases and vessels are rendered with extraordinary detail, each one reflecting Mantegna's study of ancient Roman decorative arts and his ability to create convincing metallic surfaces through precise tonal modeling. The bearers' stately procession creates the rhythmic, processional movement that unifies the entire series, while the sculptural clarity of the figures maintains the monumental dignity appropriate to the subject.