Marble relief depicting a procession towards a contest, by Benedetto Cervi (Pavese), Italy, Milan, ca. 1531-2

A youth in classical armour is seated on a chariot drawn by two horses. He carries a salamander in his left hand, while behind him on a plinth at the back of the chariot, on a viol and psaltery a naked youth is leaning over him and holding a wreath of laurels above his head. In front of him on the shaft of the chariot stands a female figure holding a torch in her right and the reins of the horses in her left. At the far right a youth in classical armour walks ahead of the procession carrying a banner in his left hand. The figures are set against a machicolated background plane, representing a hill with trees on the left and a palace on the right. Above, in the centre a bearded male figure in half-length is holding a thunderbolt in his left hand and pointing towards the chariot with his right. Beneath him is an eagle holding a scroll in his claws.

The relief was brought to Paris from Milan together with the other two (400-1854 and 7260-1860) in the 18th century, where it was kept in the Collection of Alexandre Lenoir, Founder of the Musee des Monuments Francais. A drawing of them was sent to Cicognara before 1816, who also reported that they had only recently been brought from Milan to Paris. They seem to have returned to Italy for a few years in the first half of the 19th century, when a dealer brings them from Italy to London. Robinson notes the following about the purchase of this relief: "The first piece (the relievo, No. 400) was purchased in 1854, […], from a dealer who had brought it from Italy; the two other relievos might have been acquired at the same time , but the formation of a methodic sculpture collection not being then contemplated, they were rejected, but not lost sight of. […] The drawing having already been acquired at the sale, the remaining three marbles were immediately purchased for a small amount.

The only contemporary testimony of Cervi's activity as sculptor comes from Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo's Trattato dell'arte della pittura, scoltura et architettura, published in Milan in 1584. Lomazzo mentions Benedetto Pavese (now correctly identified as Benedetto Cervi of Pavia) together with Donatello and Caradosso among the eccellenti moderni, who imitated the relief-style of the ancient masters and were able to carve "legs and other parts in the round". Lomazzo also credits Cervi with the execution of the battle-reliefs on the tomb of "Monsu di Lotrecco" in Sta Marta, Milan, by which he probably meant the famous tomb of Gaston de Foix (cousin of Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec). Therefore we have a testimony stating that Cervi collaborated with Agostino Busti between 1515 and 1521, the years Busti was working on the monument for the French soldier. The first documentary evidence shows him active at the Certosa di Pavia between 1500 and 1507, as well as in 1518 when he carved the 24 cherubs surrounding the central rose-window on the façade. A document of 1522 declares that Cervi was living in Busti's house, thus reinforcing the close working relationship between the two sculptors. In 1531 Busti receives a commission from Bernardo dei Girami for three 'pictures' in Carrara marble with histories and a nude Venus. In 1532 Busti pays Cervi 200 libras imperialium for three quadris, one with two horses …. with a seated emperor and other statues, one with one horse and other figures and one with a Lucretia and other figures. The first two can easily be identified with 7257-1860 and 7260-1860, the third could be the Suicide of Lucretia in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. The attribution of the reliefs to Cervi can be further supported by a stylistic comparison with the only known signed relief, which is an Alabaster carving of the Virgin and Child with St Elizabeth and the Young St John the Baptist in the Getty Museum, Los Angeles. It is clearly in the style of Bambaia and his school and it is signed "B*s PP", for Benedictus Papie, on the underside of the relief.
The open composition of the relief contrasts quite clearly with the enclosed spaces of the reliefs by Busti, but appears in the V&A, Prado and Getty reliefs. This construction of the space, therefore demonstrates the different level of influence Busti had on the different pieces known to be by Cervi. Working as one of Busti's many assistants on the Gaston de Foix tomb (see note on statues) he might have stood out enough in his virtuoso carving to elicit Lomazzo's attention and praise, yet he had to follow Bambaia's design and style, thus setting his figures in enclosed spaces to match the others. The type of working relationship for the 1531 commission is of a different nature. Busti sub-contracts the entire commission to Cervi, thus giving him much greater freedom of design and execution than he would have had as an assistant. Since Cervi was not a master at the time of the commission, while Busti was a well known sculptor, who had worked for the French king and the Duomo of Milan, it is understandable that the original commission would have gone to the teacher, who then passed it on to whichever student he deemed best suited. Remembering Lomazzo's mention of Cervi's

Together with the other two reliefs (400-1854 and 7260-1860) and the relief in the Prado, Madrid, it probably formed part of a monument in honour of King Francis I of France, commemorating his life and reign. It could have either been an early commission for his tomb sculpture, which also bears reliefs with stories of his wars and victories, or as part of a secular monument, like a fountain or an arch.

The scene seems to represent the procession towards a contest. The contestant is being crowned by Apollo, accompanied by Fame and lead by a banner bearer (possibly Victory). Above him is Jupiter holding a thunderbolt and an eagle with a scroll. Thus the warrior is accompanied by auguries of victory as he makes his way to meet his older opponent in 400-1854.

Benedetto Cervi (active Milan and Pavia, 1500-1532), also called Benedetto Pavese, was mentioned by Lomazzo as the sculptor responsible for the battle-reliefs of the monument to Gaston de Foix. Documentary evidence prove his work on the façade of the Certosa di Pavia between 1500 and 1507 and again in 1518, when he sculpted the twenty-four cherubs surrounding the central rosette. As stated by Lomazzo he was working on the de Foix tomb until 1521 and in 1522 he is documented as living in the house of Agostino Busti. Ten years later Busti sub-contracts the commission for three reliefs to him, as is certified by notarial acts of the period, which record the original commission, the contract between Busti and Cervi and the payment of the reliefs.

Agostino Busti (1483-1548), first documented in 1512, when he and his brother Polidoro applied to the Fabbrica del Duomo for employment. It has been suggested that he must have spent some of his formative years in France, to explain why he was so little known in Milan in 1512, when he was already titled a 'maestro', and why he was selected by the King of France, to sculpt the monument for his nephew Gaston de Foix, in S. Marta, Milan. The only known work by him before this major commission is the funeral monument for the poet Lancino Curzio, begun in 1513. He seems to have travelled to Rome in 1514, where he studied Roman tomb sculpture and sarcophagi, lessons which he applied to his next monument, the tomb of Gaston de Foix. In 1522 he completed the tomb of Gian Marco and Zenone Birago and six years later he received a commission for a further tomb in S. Marta, for Giovanni Antonio Bellotti. From 1535 Bambaia works mainly on the Cathedral of Milan, as a sculptor and a teacher to young apprentices. His last known commission was the marble tomb of S. Evasio in the cathedral of Casale Monferrato, which he left to be completed by Ambrogio Volpi. He died in Milan in june 1547.

King Francis I (1494-1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters, and France's first Renaissance monarch, was crowned in 1515 and reigned until his death in 1547. He was a major patron of the arts, employing a number of renowned Renaissance artists, most famously Benvenuto Cellini and Leonardo da Vinci. Francis I. was also responsible for building or restoring a vast number of chateaux in France, including the chateaux de Blois and of Fontainebleau. Politically, he tried unsuccessfully to become Holy Roman Emperor and engaged in a number of wars with Italy.

Alexandre Lenoir (1761-1839), Founder of the Museum of French Monuments. Created the Museum in order to safeguard monuments, tombs and sculptures from the destructions of the Revolution. He also was an archeologist and painter and he was Honore Daunier's first teacher.

The Duomo, Milan. Begun in 1387 on a site where several churches had previously existed the Dumo's construction began by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The construction proved to be a daunting task and frequently architects and consultants were hired and dismissed from the project. Of those who worked on the Cathedral, Leonardo and Bramante are the most notable.
The Duomo was completed over 500 years from the start of construction and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary upon completion.
If the reliefs were for a monument in honour of King Francis I., the Duomo in Milan would have been the most prominent and most suitable place to display it.

Bernardo de Giramis commissioned the reliefs from Agostino Busti (Il Bambaia), who sub-contracted them to Benedetto Cervi (see documents Archivio di Stato Milan), with whom he had worked on previous monuments, including the tomb of Gaston de Foix.
"libras ducentum imperialium" paid by Busti to Cervi on 31 August 1532 for three "quadri"
Documents refer to Cervi as "habitans in civitate Papie" and to Busti as residing in Milan in the 1530s.

The warrior, who makes his way to meet his opponent, is being crowned by Apollo. Fame, accompanies the procession, and a banner bearer takes the lead. Above are Jupiter holding a thunderbolt and an eagle with a scroll. The significance of the date in the inscription is yet to be discovered.

7257-1860