Rex & Imperator
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, with two kings
Buda (?), 1424; Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts graphiques, Edmond de Rotschild collection
Of the three kings on the drawing, only the central figure can be definitely identified from the legend underneath: “Sigmu(n)dis rex romanoru(m)”. Inferences regarding the other two may be drawn from iconographic correspondences and historical circumstances. From comparisons with other depictions, the figure standing to Sigismund’s left is his cousin, King Erik of Denmark and the other is probably Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus. The two kings were resident for an extended period in Sigismund’s Buda court in 1424, when the drawing was made, and would have been a good occasion for this ceremonial composition.
