The Battle of the Milvian Bridge
The tapestry is part of a series of four dedicated to the Stories of Constantine (inv. MD 2001.092.011-25-26-027) from the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. They were created in Brussels between 1655 and 1660 based on cartoons by Abraham van Diepenbeeck (‘s-Hertogenbosch 1596 – Antwerp 1675) and are characterized by an extraordinary chromatic richness, both in the main scenes and in the refined borders with naturalistic festoons of flowers and fruit, enriched in the corners by small animals. The weaving was carried out finely, with brightly colored wool and silk weft yarns.
The scene represents a phase of the bitter battle, with Constantine riding a rearing horse with a sword in his right hand and recognizable by the imperial diadem on his helmet: in front of him an infantryman violently unseats a knight; in the foreground a kneeling soldier stabs an enemy in the throat.
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Artwork details
- Artist:
- Willem (Guillam) van Leefdael (Bruxelles 1632-1688)
- Title:
- The Battle of the Milvian Bridge
- Date:
- 1655-1660
- Medium and technique:
- Wool warp, wool and silk weft
- Dimensions:
- 318 × 330 cm
- Inventory:
- MD 2001.092.011
- Location
-
Location: Saint Ambrose, ground floor
The Saint Ambrose gallery contains a group of works from the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, on loan to the Diocesan Museum. Significantly, it is the first room on the visitor route, which thus opens with the figure of Ambrose. As founder and patron saint of the Milanese diocese, Ambrose’s influential episcopate (374–397) shaped the history of the city and of the Church that bears his name.
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