The Battle of Pydna

This painting, together with its pair The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus, belonged to a cassone. They depict two episodes from the history of the Roman commander Lucius Aemilius Paulus in the second century BCE, specifically the battle of Pydna, which decided the outcome of the third Macedonian war, and the triumphal march of Aemilius Paulus. The two scenes were inspired by Petrarch Trionfi and are set in Florence of the second half of the fifteenth century. The panels were executed in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio with the contribution of the young Leonardo da Vinci.