The Portrait

"Mantegna, how much longer do I have to hold this pose?"

Seated on his throne, holding a scepter and a sword, Emperor Laszlo twisted his stiff neck and asked the artist who was concentrating on his painting not far away.

"Bear with it, Your Majesty, it will be done soon."

The painter Mantegna was in the final stages of detailed depiction, meticulously portraying and refining the Emperor's facial features and demeanor.

To be honest, when he first received the commission to paint the Emperor's portrait, he was extremely reluctant.

He was the best painter in Padua, and in the winter of last year, he had just completed a commission for a small chapel, which involved creating a fresco.

The Imperial Army happened to enter Padua at that time, and Mantegna personally witnessed the Imperial Army soldiers destroy the statue of Gattamelata, a famous Venetian mercenary general.

He heard that it was the Emperor's personal order, to showcase the Imperial Army's military prowess and prove that they had defeated the Venetians.

Mantegna didn't really care much about the war between the Emperor and his homeland, Venice.

However, Donatello, the creator of "Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata," was an old artist he greatly admired and respected.

Donatello was the most outstanding artist in Florence, and one of the earliest; he had stayed in Padua for five years to complete his sculpting work, during which time Mantegna became acquainted with him.

Watching the fruits of his senior's painstaking labor being wantonly destroyed, Mantegna felt a strong aversion to the actions of the Emperor and the Imperial Army.

He then left Padua and went to the neighboring Ferrara, where he gained the appreciation of the lord and became a court painter.

Soon after, he heard that the war had finally come to an end.

And the Emperor began to recruit scholars and artists within Northern Italy, and extensively collected precious treasures such as paintings, statues, and books, intending to pack them all and take them back to Vienna.

The Emperor even publicly declared that "art knows no borders," and that bringing these precious artworks, cultural relics, and artists back to Austria was to promote the spread of Italian art.

Subsequently, Mantegna was recommended to the Emperor by Borso, the lord of Ferrara.

Due to his widespread fame, he was soon appointed as the court painter in Vienna.

And his first commission was to paint a portrait of the Emperor, a task that had been ongoing for three days and was nearing completion.

Although Mantegna was somewhat displeased, he was not bold enough to defy the Emperor's decree.

He just didn't understand why this Emperor, who was much younger than him, was so enthusiastic about art, even though he didn't seem to have much respect for it in his heart.

Among the painters and scholars he had summoned, Mantegna had seen many familiar faces, including many famous figures, such as Donatello, whom he admired.

This seventy-two-year-old gentleman nearly died amidst the chaos after Florence was breached, and now he was "invited" by the Emperor to Milan, preparing to cross the Alps via Tyrol to Vienna.

He wondered if the old man's body could withstand the rigors of the journey.

Compared to those artists who were too old or too young, Mantegna was undoubtedly the most favored by Emperor Laszlo; among artists of his generation, no one's reputation could rival his.

Therefore, he obtained the position of court painter, while others were promised university professorships or independent studios.

Mantegna's painting was finally completed. He incorporated his most skilled use of perspective and classical style into the artwork, striving to convey a heroic demeanor.

For this purpose, he had to paint the Emperor a bit older than his actual age, so that he wouldn't look so immature.

"The painting is complete, Your Majesty. Now, we just need to wait for the paint to dry."

Laszlo immediately stood up from the throne, handed the scepter to an attendant, picked up his scabbard and fastened it to his waist, sheathed his sword, and then eagerly stood up and walked to Mantegna's side to carefully admire the newly completed painting.

When he saw himself in the painting, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe; the figure in the painting looked exactly like a brave monarch skilled in warfare.

"The painting is very good, Mantegna." Laszlo was very satisfied, nodding repeatedly. "Someone, take this painting down and preserve it properly. I want to hang it in the Hofburg Palace. Mantegna, follow Matthias to the treasury to receive your reward. Serve me well; I will not treat you unfairly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Although Mantegna disliked the Imperial Army's destruction of sculptures, the Emperor's generous reward greatly improved his impression of the Emperor.

He now constantly told himself that the initial actions must have been carried out by certain individuals within the Imperial Army without authorization.

How could someone like Emperor Laszlo, who understood appreciation, allow people to commit such acts that trampled on art and beauty?

After the portrait painting was finished, Laszlo immediately immersed himself in complex state affairs.

The siege of Turin was still ongoing, and the Duke of Burgundy had once again led his army to besiege Chambéry.

France and Swiss had not given up on Savoy, but after their devastating defeat, both countries still needed some time to recover their strength.

Laszlo's generals and strategists even predicted that a major war might erupt in the Savoy region between the Austria-Burgundy alliance and the France-Swiss alliance.

He did not want to see this happen. Italy had just been settled, and he needed to preserve his strength to control the Italian princes and then digest the gains from this war.

Now was not the time for a decisive battle; everyone needed a breathing space.

On the other side, the Venetians, after being driven to the sea, still attempted to counterattack, but without supplies from land territories, they absolutely could not sustain themselves for long.

Laszlo paid some money to the Republic of Genoa, and their fleet transformed into pirates, specifically plundering Venetian merchant ships near the strait connecting the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Genoese had been doing this for hundreds of years, and their targets were almost always Venetian merchant ships, so they did it with professional ease and skill.

The Venetians would send escort fleets to transport essential goods to sustain the city's inhabitants.

However, their fleets were ultimately limited, and unescorted ships often encountered piracy, frequently losing a large amount of wealth.

Pirates from Naples and the Balkans also began to join this venture, which carried both risks and rewards.

As all trade ports along the route from Venice to Greece had fallen, Venetian ships had to sail all the way to Corfu to get supplies.

Every now and then, Venice's maritime trade income would shrink significantly.

By May, some voices in Venice were already hoping for peace with the Emperor.

Although such voices were quickly suppressed, the citizens' desire for peace had been awakened.

At this time, another major event occurred: the siege of the capital of Naples ended.

Duke John II of Lorraine was forced to surrender under the dual sea and land blockade by the combined forces of Naples and Albania.

He subsequently signed a humiliating treaty, renouncing the House of Anjou's claim to the throne of Naples and agreeing to pay a large amount of war reparations and ransom.

King Ferdinand I of Naples repaid a portion of the loan provided by Austria, then immediately declared war on Venice.

The revitalized Neapolitan navy began attacking Venetian fleets in the Adriatic Sea, coordinating with the Genoese inside and outside the strait, making the Venetians' plight even more miserable.