This is one of five panels in the Royal Collection by Giulio Romano that originally belonged an elaborate decorative scheme for the state apartments within the Palazzo Ducale, Mantua. This panel comes from one of the grandest rooms, the Camerino dei Cesari (‘Cabinet of the Caesars’), the decoration of which consisted principally of eleven powerful canvases of the Roman Emperors by Titian. The subject matter is drawn from Suetonius’s ‘Lives of the Caesars’, and reflects Federico Gonzaga’s obsession with imperial themes. Completed in 1540, Titian’s images were sadly destroyed by fire in Spain in 1734.

Giuilo played a subsidiary role in the decoration of the room; responsible for the broader ensemble into which Titian’s ‘portraits’ were fitted, he provided scenes from the life of each Emperor, to be placed below the portraits (of the original eleven only four have survived, three are in the Royal Collection). Flanking these scenes were mounted figures by Giulio representing the Emperors, and one female figure with a horse representing Victory (there were probably originally twelve of these figures, of which nine survive, two are in the Royal Collection). The ensemble of three walls (omitting the west wall) is recorded by drawings attributed to Ippolito Andreasi, c.1568 (Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf), commissioned by the antiquarian Jacopo Strada. The relationship between the grand Titian figures and Giulio’s narrative scenes below has been compared to the hierarchy of an altarpiece: the predella with anecdotal scenes from the life of the saint who is depicted above, standing in majesty. Giulio’s skill lay in the illusionistic ensemble, bringing together architecture, painting and sculpture, designed to complement Titian’s work.

‘An Emperor on Horseback’ comes from the set of panels which framed the scenes from the lives of the emperors. It is likely that they represent the emperors, rather than Roman soldiers or attendants. Early sources and inventories identify them as emperors or ‘Caesars’. Andreasi’s drawn copies show that many of the figures had symbols of rule or triumph, such as batons or laurel wreaths. He also recorded commemorative plaques, probably originally in stucco, above and below each figure on horseback, many of which name emperors themselves. There were probably twelve in number, but the lack of an Andreasi drawing for the west wall makes this difficult to establish. This panel was originally on the west wall, not recorded by Andreasi, but resembles the almost bald middle-aged head of Vespasian.