The Triumphs of Caesar: 9. Caesar on his Chariot

Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar: Caesar on his Chariot (Canvas 9) depicts the triumphant general at the climax of his procession, crowned with laurel and surrounded by attendants carrying his battle honors, the entire accumulated evidence of military achievement preceding this moment of supreme civic recognition. The ninth and final canvas resolves the processional narrative, the accumulation of spoils, prisoners, elephants, and soldiers finding its culmination in the figure of the man whose victories made the triumph possible. Mantegna based his Caesar on careful study of Roman sculptural and numismatic sources.

Caesar's chariot is the most elaborately decorated element in the entire cycle, its carved panels and gilt surfaces rendered with painstaking detail. The triumphant general's pose — rigidly upright, holding the symbols of victory — evokes the descriptions of ancient authors that guided Mantegna's reconstruction.