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This is one of a pair of panels from a piece of painted furniture, a cassone (large chest). They show the story of the Roman Emperor Trajan, widely known from Jacopo da Voragine’s Golden Legend of about 1260 and retold by Dante in the Divine Comedy in the early fourteenth century. As Trajan prepared to leave for a military campaign, a widow asked for justice for her son, who had been killed by Trajan’s own son. He promised this on his return, but, after she pointed out that he might not come back, he duly held a court. Here, in the first scene in the story, the mounted Emperor, dressed in mail and with a crown, is riding out of the gate of a city, accompanied by his soldiers. The distressed widow points to the body of her son, which lies in the road.
Title
The Widow's Petition
Date
probably about 1475-1500
Medium
Tempera on spruce
Measurements
H 34 x W 31.5 cm
Accession number
NG1135
Acquisition method
Bought, 1883
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John Walker Art Gallery -
Crucifixion Lamport Hall -
Christopher Gerard, Priest of Verona National Trust, Tatton Park -
The Justice of Trajan The National Gallery, London -
The Widow's Petition The National Gallery, London -
The Visitation with Saint Paul and a Franciscan Martyr Saint National Trust, Montacute House -
Portrait of an Unknown Man The Fitzwilliam Museum