ABSTRACT
When Charles V and his son and designated successor Philip rode into Antwerp on 11 September 1549, the city was decked out more beautifully than ever for this Joyous Entry. In spite of all the marks of honour, it is Alexander who is pre-eminent, not Apelles. The artist must serve as a pillar of support—almost literally so, in Antwerp—to bolster the ruler's glory. And such embedding in politics naturally applies just as much to the history of art. The emphasis on modernity is even more clearly pronounced with respect to the representatives of Industria, the Florentine artists Giotto and Michelangelo. Their legend 'His cedat Zeuxis, cedat ter magnus Apelles' employs the classical 'cedat nunc' topos. Petrarch had already called Simone Martini a master, better even than Polykletes, Zeuxis, Praxiteles and Phidias. Vallani says that Giotto is greater than Apelles, and many others produce variations on these comparisons.
