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The Justice of Trajan

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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This is the second of a pair of panels from a piece of painted furniture, a cassone (large chest). The panels show a story from the life 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.

Trajan was preparing to leave for a military campaign when a widow asked for justice for her son, who had been killed by Trajan’s own son. The Emperor promised this on his return, but, after the widow pointed out that he might not come back, he duly held a court. Here, in the second scene of the story, Trajan sits on the left on a raised marble throne, dispensing justice. The widow stands before him, while soldiers and civilians look on.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Justice of Trajan

Date

probably about 1475-1500

Medium

Tempera on spruce

Measurements

H 33.5 x W 33 cm

Accession number

NG1136

Acquisition method

Bought, 1883

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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