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Lot Essay
Cf. a similar shield in the Odescalchi Collection, Rome (N. di Carpegna, Antiche Armi dal Sec. IX al XVIII gia Collezione Odescalchi, Rome, 1969, cat. no. 177)
Italian painted shields, of which at least fifty are known, were in some cases decorated by major artists: Leonardo de Vinci (1452-1519) is reputed (according to Giorgio Vasari) to have painted one, and two have survived, respectively by Jan van der Straet (1523-1605) and Caravaggio (1571-1610). The last is the famous "Medusa" shield of circa 1596, in the Uffizi, Florence
For an account of such shields see Stuart W. Pyhrr and Everett Fahy, 'A Renaissance Painted Shield Attributed to Girolamo da Treviso', Studies in European Arms and Armour, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 100-104
Italian painted shields, of which at least fifty are known, were in some cases decorated by major artists: Leonardo de Vinci (1452-1519) is reputed (according to Giorgio Vasari) to have painted one, and two have survived, respectively by Jan van der Straet (1523-1605) and Caravaggio (1571-1610). The last is the famous "Medusa" shield of circa 1596, in the Uffizi, Florence
For an account of such shields see Stuart W. Pyhrr and Everett Fahy, 'A Renaissance Painted Shield Attributed to Girolamo da Treviso', Studies in European Arms and Armour, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 100-104