Cesare Borgia

Like nearly all aspects of Cesare Borgia's life, the date of his birth is a
subject of dispute. However, it is accepted that he was born in Rome in either
1475 or 1476 to Cardinal Rodrigo de Lanzol y Borja, soon to become Pope
Alexander VI, and his mistress Vannozza de' Cattanei, of whom documents are
sparse. The Borgia family originally came from Spain and rose to prominence
during the mid 15th century, when Cesare's great uncle Alonso Borgia
(1378-1458), bishop of Valencia, was elected Pope Callixtus III in 1455. [1]
Cesare's father, Pope Alexander VI, was the first pope who openly recognised to have children with a lover.

In Volume One of Celebrated Crimes, Alexandre Dumas, states that some pictures of Jesus Christ produced around Borgia's lifetime were based on Cesare Borgia, and that this in turn has influenced images of Jesus produced since that time.