 Between 1627 and 1628 the paintings were sold to Charles I of England by Vincenzo II Gonzaga, and when the Royal Collection of Charles I was broken up and sold after his execution by the English Commonwealth, the "Eleven Caesars" passed in 1651 into the collection of Philip IV of Spain.They were all destroyed in a catastrophic fire at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in 1734, and are now only known from copies and engravings.Titian was commissioned in 1536 to paint eleven portraits for the "Gabinetto dei Cesari" (sometimes "Camerino dei Cesari", "Cabinet of the Caesars"), one room in new suite at the Palazzo Ducale di Mantova designed by Giulio Romano, with décor inspired by ancient history.