The painter Sante Peranda worked between 1608 and 1627 in the employ of Alessandro I Pico della Mirandola, husband of Laura d’Este, daughter of Duke Cesare, who was forced to move his capital to Modena. Precisely at the urging of his son-in-law, in 1609 Cesare welcomed the talented painter to court to commission some family portraits.
The painter spent a few months in Ferrara and, although initially the Este family were not too generous with him, he was later commissioned for many works and was recommended to other courts.
This portrait was executed for the Gallery of Alexander I Pico but, as a consequence of the vicissitudes of the Duchy of Mirandola in the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1716 this painting and many other precious objects were transferred to the Ducal Palace in Mantua, where they are still kept today. The painter created a painting that conformed to the stylistic features of international portraiture, the intention of which was to demonstrate the royalty and power of the sovereign: here the Duke is depicted standing, in his right hand he clasps a pair of gloves that he is resting on the table next to him, where there is a dark headdress with a high plume. Another symbol of power and command is the left hand resting on the hilt of the broadsword. The figure is set in a compositional frame created by a red drapery that has been detached – a recurring element in all of the painter’s portraiture – showing a column, while at the bottom of the painting one can see a step, as the figure is placed on a raised plane. Caesar is dressed completely in black, only the white spiked collar breaks the monotony, while on his chest is the collar of the Toson d’Oro, a prestigious honour received in 1607 from King Philip III of Spain. The face is depicted in three-quarter profile, characterised by a thick moustache and long pointed goatee. The shrewd but elusive expression on Caesar’s face, which seems to be immortalised in an eternal wait, is of remarkable artistic quality.
