1458-1460

Nero and Poppaea on Horseback

Italian (active Rome and Naples), active 1447 - 1464

This relief—derived from an ancient coin—depicts the Roman emperor Nero with his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. Although Nero and Poppaea were infamous for their tyrannical, murderous, and amoral behavior, they remained a subject of historical fascination and the allusion to classical models would have been greatly appreciated by the artist's sophisticated, scholarly circle. A poem written in honor of Isaia da Pisa around 1460 by Giovanni Antonio Pandone (called "il Porcellio") describes this carving, which was a gift from the sculptor to the poet, who also compared the artist to the ancient Greek sculptors Phidias, Polykleitos, and Praxiteles. Renaissance artists frequently interacted with scholars interested in the ancient world, who shared useful information on subject matter and provided sources for artistic inspiration. Pandone’s particular interest in ancient coins may well have prompted this special gift.