The Assassination and Funeral of Julius Caesar

The Assassination and Funeral of Julius Caesar (1455–60) by the workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni belongs to the cassone tradition of painting Roman historical subjects on wedding chests. Caesar's assassination in the Senate and subsequent state funeral were among the most dramatic episodes in ancient history, offering painters a sequence of violent, ceremonial, and politically charged imagery. In the context of Florence in the 1450s, with the Medici consolidating power after the Albizzi exile, Caesar's fate carried contemporary resonance — the tension between republican values and strong individual rule was not merely academic. Apollonio di Giovanni's workshop served the city's most prominent families with narrative paintings that spoke to their political culture.

Despite the transfer to canvas and hardboard, the tempera painting retains its original vivid colors and precise detailing. The composition arranges multiple narrative episodes within an architectural framework, characteristic of the continuous narrative tradition in Florentine cassone painting.