The Ball

1500

Master MZ

Associated Names
Master MZ

Artist, German, active c. 1500

This is a drawing of an indoor scene with a detailed interior setting and several elegantly dressed figures engaged in various activities. The composition showcases a richly decorated room with intricately designed furniture, including a prominent central table with figures seated around it. The architectural layout is elaborate, featuring high ceilings, arched windows, and a balustrade on the upper level. The floor is tiled in a distinct pattern. The artwork captures a moment of affluence and culture from a past era.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.183

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 8, p.367, no. 17, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1933

  • An Exhibition of Prints from the Collection of Lessing J. Rosenwald, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 1933, no. 21.

1946

  • Music in Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no catalogue.

1953

  • Old Master Etchings and Engravings, Birmingham Museum of Art, AL, 1953.

1955

  • installation to accompany two concerts titled "Love Songs of the Renaissance," Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1955, no cat.

1956

  • Selected Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, City Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, 1956.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 152, repro.

1969

  • Festivals and Fairs: Prints from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, no catalogue.

1979

  • Festivities: Ceremonies and Celebrations in Western Europe 1500-1790, Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, RI, 1979, no. 12, repro.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1967

  • Shestack, Alan. Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1967: no. 152.

1998

  • Howard, Skiles. The Politics of Courtly Dancing in Early Modern England. Amherst, MA, 1998: p. 17-18, fig. 10 (with variant name Matthaus Zasinger).

Watermarks

coat of arms of Cleves with lion (Lehrs 43; close to Briquet 1945)

Wikidata ID

Q64960434

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