Focus on this artwork and explain the History.
On 6 July 1495 the French army of Charles VIII of France, retreating from Italy after the French Invasion of 1494-1498, fought the Italic League at the Battle of Fornovo.  The League, commanded by Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, was made up of numerous nation-states determined to prevent French dominance in Italy, and included the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Venice, Milan, and the Papal States controlled by Pope Alexander VI. Despite the League failing in its goal to destroy the French army, taking more casualties at Fornovo, and allowing Charles VIII to retreat back to France with his army intact, Francesco claimed victory. As a sign of his self-proclaimed victory at Fornovo, he commissioned Mantegna to paint the Madonna della Vittoria.During Francesco's absence from Mantua, Daniele da Norsa, a Jewish banker, had purchased a house in the city's San Simone quarter and replaced the image of the Virgin Mary which decorated its façade with his own coat of arms. The regent, Sigismondo Gonzaga, ordered him to restore the depiction. Although Daniele agreed to do so, the populace, inflamed by anti-semitic feeling, destroyed his house.
When Francesco returned, he forced Daniele to fund a chapel and a devotional painting. The painting was to be executed by the Mantuan court painter, Mantegna, and was inaugurated in 1496 on the anniversary of the duke's victory at Fornovo. The work was placed in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which had been constructed over the ruins of Daniele da Norsa's house.The painting was one of the artworks looted by the French during the Napoleonic invasion of Italy, and by 1798 was being exhibited in the Louvre. The painting was never returned; the given excuse was that its large size made the transport difficult. The presence of a sulphur-crested cockatoo in the painting is considered as evidence of Arab trade in the Australasian region with the bird being a gift from Sultan al-Kamil to Frederick II.
the artworks looted by the French Virgin Mary sulphur-crested cockatoo Napoleonic invasion of Italy Frederick II Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua Louvre French Invasion of 1494-1498 Francesco II Gonzaga Battle of Fornovo Charles VIII of France Santa Maria della Vittoria Pope Alexander VI Sultan al-Kamil Sigismondo Gonzaga