Foot Soldier in Front of a Tree

1520

Barthel Beham

Associated Names
Barthel Beham

Artist, German, 1502 - 1540

This is a drawing of a fantastical creature with human and animal features. The image depicts a figure with a heavily muscled and contorted body, resembling a combination of a human and a mythical creature. It stands in an unusual pose with its legs planted firmly on the ground, near some grass or foliage. Its upper body is robust with exaggerated bulges and muscles, detailed with elaborate linework. The creature holds a spear or staff in its right hand, and there seems to be a large sword tucked in its belt. The head and face are obscured by the position of the arms and shoulders. A tree trunk or branch extends upwards behind the creature, framing its upper body, with the date "1520" inscribed in the top right. The exaggerated proportions and intricate detailing reflect a touch of surrealism, distinctive of Northern Renaissance art.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate): 4.9 × 4.1 cm (1 15/16 × 1 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.877

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Pauli 'Barthel', no. 50, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Franz Gawet [1765-1847], Vienna (Lugt 1069); Josef Viktor Kuderna [1886-1952], Vienna (Lugt 1482b); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1930; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1911

  • Pauli, Gustav. Barthel Beham: ein kritisches Verzeichnis seiner Kupferstiche. Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte, 135. Strasbourg: J.H. Ed. Heitz, 1911: no. 50.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Barthel Beham, compiled by Anne Röver-Kann). Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2021: no. 56.

Wikidata ID

Q64954101

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