Master of the Battle of Fornovo French, active c. 1495 The Battle of Fornovo, c. 1495 engraving National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection, 1952

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At the battle of Fornovo in northern Italy in 1495, the armies of King Charles VIII of France fought the combined forces of King Ferdinand of Spain, the Emperor Maximilian, Pope Alexander VI, and the republics of Venice and Milan. This print was probably made soon afterward by an artist who had been present at the battle. At left, Italians attack from the woods, met by the French king's Swiss mercenaries. At right, Charles (identifiable by his crown) and his men fight another group of Italians. At lower left, Albanian mercenaries loot the French baggage rather than take part in the battle, undermining the plan of attack and allowing the French to escape.

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