Triumph in Love

The Triumphs of Love, Chastity, and Death and the Triumphs of Fame, Time, and Divinity
Attributed to Girolamo da Cremona, Italian Artist: 1451-1483
c. 1460s

Students will examine the artistic qualities of the paintings, identify different entities or elements which triumph in contemporary life, and develop and illustrate a written piece about an element or entity that triumphs in their lives.

Intended Age Group
Secondary (grades 6-12)
Standards Area
Language Arts
Lesson Length
One 50 minute lesson
Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • examine the artistic characteristics of The Triumphs of Love, Chastity, and Death and The Triumphs of Fame, Time, and Divinity;
  • identify and provide supporting examples of other entities or elements that triumph in life, such as hope, wealth, or determination; and
  • develop and illustrate a written piece that shows how a particular entity or element emerges in victory in their contemporary lives.

Lesson

  1. Display The Triumphs of Love, Chastity, and Death and The Triumphs of Fame, Time, and Divinity to the class. Invite the students to look carefully and share what they observe. What do they notice about the paintings? What clues do they notice that allow them to tell the order or direction of the paintings? What symbols do they recognize? Why do they think the artist chose the various animals? Do they recognize any historical or mythological figures? If so, which ones? What similarities and differences do they notice between the different panels? Do they notice repetition or variation between the paintings? What adjectives would they use to describe the paintings?
  2. Share with students that the paintings are attributed to Girolamo da Cremona, a follower of Andrea Mantegna in Italy in the 1460s, during the period in history known as the Italian Renaissance.
  3. Explain to the students that these paintings can be read like comic strips, from left to right. They are not taken necessarily for face value, but rather for the allegorical meanings associated with their imagery. In the left-hand panel of the first painting, for example, Love rules over everyone. But in the second panel, Chastity takes away Love’s bow and arrows and takes him prisoner. In the third panel, Death crushes everyone else under his wheels. Yet in the first panel of the second painting, Fame wins out over Death. Time, in the next panel, destroys Fame. And finally, Divinity triumphs over all. God sits on top of the last chariot. The underlying moral of the paintings is that, in the end, the only true hope for salvation is faith in God. Refer to the About the Art section for more information.
  4. Ask the students: What does it mean to triumph? What are some other elements or entities in life that triumph at some point? The students may offer ideas such as hope, wealth, or determination. Invite the students to support their ideas with specific examples of when these elements or entities have triumphed. Record the students’ thoughts on a large piece of chart paper or (interactive) whiteboard.
  5. Invite the students to select a particular entity or element that triumphs in contemporary life and write about why this particular entity or element emerges as victorious over other virtues or entities. Encourage the students to spend time brainstorming and planning how they can visually depict this element of life. Prompt this planning by referring back to the painting and how the virtues were illustrated by key figures, animals pulling the carts, and other people and animals in the panels. You may want to have students work in pairs during the brainstorming process, or perhaps work together in a small group to create a finished written piece and illustration.
  6. When students have finished creating their written pieces, invite volunteers to share their work and arrange all the students’ pieces on a wall in the classroom. Discuss whether there is a logical progression in the concepts they have chosen and whether the class could create a version of Triumphs when arranged together.

Materials

  • Lined paper and pen/pencil for each student
  • Large piece of chart paper and colored markers or (interactive) whiteboard for recording students’ ideas
  • Art materials to create illustrations, such as paper, color pencils, markers, scissors, etc.
  • About the Art section on The Triumphs of Love, Chastity, and Death and The Triumphs of Fame, Time, and Divinity
  • One color copy of the paintings for every four students, or the ability to project the image onto a wall or screen

Standards

CO Standards
  • Social Studies
    • History
  • Evaluate and analyze sources using historical method of inquiry and defend their conclusions
  • Understand the concept that the power of ideas is significant throughout history
  • Analyze the concepts of continuity and change and effect
  • Analyze the concept of complexity, unity and diversity
  • Visual Arts
    • Observe and Learn to Comprehend
    • Relate and Connect to Transfer
    • Envision and Critique to Reflect
  • Language Arts
    • Oral Expression and Listening
    • Research and Reasoning
    • Writing and Composition
    • Reading for All Purposes
21st Century Skills
  • Collaboration
  • Critical Thinking & Reasoning
  • Invention
  • Self-Direction

The Triumphs of Love, Chastity, and Death and the Triumphs of Fame, Time, and Divinity

c. 1460s

Object: painting
Object ID: 1961.169.2

Medium/Technique

Oil on panel

Credit

Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation

About the Artist

In Italy in the 1400s, art was a business like any other. People commissioned paintings from workshops, which were headed by master painters like Andrea Mantegna [mahn-TEN-ya] (1430–1506). Though it can be difficult to attribute paintings made in the workshop system to one artist, these paintings are attributed to Girolamo da Cremona.

We haven’t determined with certainty the original use of these panels, but one suggestion is that they adorned a piece of wedding furniture. The bride’s father or another male relative would have commissioned the paintings to decorate a cassone [kass-SO-nay], an elaborate chest for seating and storage of clothing, cloth, and jewelry. Cassoni (plural) often stood in bedrooms, where guests would be received, and fancy cassoni were intended to impress visitors with the family’s wealth. Paintings that were based on literary subjects, like these panels, were entertaining and also spoke well of the family’s education. Along with the message the paintings sent to visitors, they also reminded those who acquired such works how to live a Christian life. Other possibilities are that the panels decorated the sides of a bed platform, or that they might have adorned the walls of a Humanist’s studiolo (a scholar’s study or library).

What Inspired It

Since wealthy patrons in the 1400s wanted paintings that would show off their aristocratic tastes, they liked to hire artists who were familiar with subjects inspired by ancient Greek and Roman literature and classical art of the past. The artist who painted these panels based them on a group of poems called “The Triumphs.” Though written by Italian poet Francesco Petrarch [fran-CHESS-co pet-TRARK] a century and a half earlier, his poems were still widely popular when these paintings were made. The poems allude to triumphal processions that passed through the Roman forum on their way to the Capitoline Hill, where the most sacred Roman temples were located. The processions consisted of marching men and prominent figures atop chariots pulled by four horses. The subject may have a dual significance in this case, as weddings of two powerful Renaissance families were also proclaimed “triumphs.”

These paintings can be read like comic strips, from left to right. They are not taken necessarily for face value, but rather for the allegorical meanings associated with their imagery. In the left-hand panel of the first painting, for example, Love rules over everyone—until in the second panel Chastity takes him prisoner. Chastity takes away Love’s bow and arrows and puts him in chains (see Cupid chained to the front of Chastity’s chariot in the middle panel). In the third panel, Death crushes everyone else under his wheels. But in the first panel of the second painting, Fame wins out over Death. Time, in the next panel, destroys Fame. And finally, Divinity triumphs over all. God sits on top of the last chariot. The underlying moral of the paintings is that, in the end, the only true hope for salvation is faith in God.

Details

Triumph of Love

Love’s chariot is surrounded by the captives of love, among them the Roman gods Jupiter, god of light and sky, and Mercury, god of trade, profit, merchants, and travelers. Behind the chariot are classic poets of love, Virgil and Dante among them. Love, hence, conquers all.

Triumph of Chastity

Chastity wears a white dress and carries a palm for victory. Unicorns pulling the chariot symbolize innocence. Cupid is now defeated and bound. Below Cupid are the virtues of Honesty, Shame, Reason, Modesty, Perseverance, and Glory.

Triumph of Death

Death crushes all beneath his wheels. The landscape is barren. Someone’s crown has rolled into the foreground showing that even the powerful are not spared.

Triumph of Fame

Fame holds the book of history. Around the chariot are heroes of Roman history. Also present is Judith, a biblical hero, holding the head of Holofernes [hall-oh-FAIR-knees], whom she killed to save Israel. Behind the chariot is a group of ancient philosophers led by Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras.

Triumph of Time

Father Time, who walks with the aid of a stick, is holding a “tau-cross” or “T” cross, alluding to the first letter of Theta, the word for God. He’s surrounded by old men in an arid landscape with the light of a setting sun.

Triumph of Divinity

God is surrounded by symbols of the four evangelists (Matthew = man/ angel, Mark = lion, Luke = ox, John = eagle). Red seraphim (the highest order of angels and fiery caretakers of God’s throne) flutter all around him, probably signaling divine inspiration. Around him are the apostles.

Comparisons Across the Panels

In each panel, compare the different beasts pulling the chariots, what each figure atop the chariot is holding, shapes and patterns on the chariots, trees and background scenery, and scene-framing rocks. Also note that God is the only seated figure.

Two Families’ Coats of Arms

To reinforce that these paintings mark the coming together of two powerful families, the artist included each family’s coat of arms. One probably belongs to the Gonzaga family, who at the time ruled the Duchy of Mantua where Mantegna’s workshop was based. Each coat of arms appears on a tower in the background—one in The Triumph of Chastity and one in The Triumph of Fame.

Changing Landscape

The landscape in the Chastity panel is very lush, green, and fertile looking, as opposed to the rocky barrenness in the neighboring Death panel. The variety of landscapes and the narrative detail within them helps set the tone in each scene. Deep landscape vistas also presented the opportunity for artists to demonstrate recent developments in conveying depth through perspective.

Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.

The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.