Battle of the Nude Men (B. 10)

Details

Domenico Campagnola (1500-1564)
Battle of the Nude Men (B. 10)
engraving, 1517, watermark Anchor in a Circle with a Star, a good impression of this rare and important engraving, showing only a little wear in the trees above, with narrow margins, the upper right corner with paper discolouration and small surface losses, other, minor defects elsewhere, backed with paper tape along the sheet edges and remains of old adhesive verso, otherwise in good condition
P. 223 x 227 mm., S. 227 x 231 mm.

Literature

J. Levenson, K. Oberhuber, J. L. Sheehan, Early Italian Engravings from the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1973, p. 428, no. 156 (ill.)

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

The present engraving is one of the largest and arguably the most ambitious of Campagnola's engravings. As a battle scene it stands in the tradition of Pollaiuolo's Battle of Nude Men, as well as Michelangelo's and Leonardo's competitive designs for the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence. However, it is probably most closely related to a work by his fellow Venitian, Titian, who in 1513 proposed to paint a battle scene for the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, the Battle of Cadore, which was finally begun in 1539 and destroyed by fire in 1577.

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