Scenes from the Coronation of the Emperor Frederick III in Rome

Scenes from the Coronation of the Emperor Frederick III in Rome

Artist Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi (Italian, 1406–1486)

Date1400s

Mediumtempera on panel

Dimensions58 x 158.3 cm (22 13/16 x 62 5/16 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1913.46

Label TextFrederick III was the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to be crowned by the Pope in Rome. The coronation took place in St. Peter's on March 19, 1452. The event made a strong impression on the popular imagination and was recorded in written accounts as well as many painted scenes. These panels, which were originally arranged on the front and sides of a cassone (a chest like the one below), show the Emperor, the Empress Leonora, and their retinue at a number of events during their stay in Rome. On the central panel there are three scenes which occurred at separate times but are shown together. The coronation itself is seen on the left, inaccurately placed on the steps of St. Peter's rather than inside; in the center the Pope takes leave of the Emperor, blessing him; and on the right the Emperor confers knighthood on his brother Albert. Such a combination of non-simultaneous events in one composition many seem odd to us, but it was not unusual at the time. The left-hand panel shows the Emperor and his suite; the right-hand one shows the Empress and her ward, King Ladislas of Hungary, returning to their lodging after the coronation.ProvenanceM. de Saint-Maurice, Paris, by 1865; sale Paris, 22 February 1867 (lots 216, 217 as school of Piero della Francesca); Louis Veneau, Paris; sold to F. Kleinberger, Paris; Enrich Galleries, New York, by 1913; sold to Worcester Art Museum, 1913.

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