Laocoön and His Sons
Charles Frederick was buried across from Pope Adrian VI, in the Santa Maria dell’Anima, the church in Rome of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. His magnificent grave monument was designed by his tutor Pighius, and executed by the sculptors Nicolas Mostaert and Gillis van den Vliete. It shows, among other things, a scene of the Last Judgement that cites in one of the male nudes the statue of Laocoön and His Sons discovered in 1506. It also includes a statue of the Duke praying on his knees. A second part of the monument, with the presentation of the consecrated sword and hat, now hangs in the vestibule of the church. The inscription there states that Charles Frederick had a precocious sense of piety and was brilliant despite his youth and knew many things and many languages.