The Conquest of Ignorance

1560s

René Boyvin after Rosso Fiorentino

Associated Names
René Boyvin

Artist, French, c. 1525 - 1598 or c. 1625

Rosso Fiorentino

Artist After, Florentine, 1494 - 1540

This is a drawing of multiple figures and architectural elements. The scene contains various figures, some seated, others standing, captured in dynamic poses. The figures are muscular, with exaggerated gestures. They appear to be reacting to a central figure advancing through a large archway in the background holding a sword. The attire of the figures suggests antiquity, with flowing drapery and classical robes. Architectural columns and a pediment frame the figure in the background. The use of shading captures the play of light and shadow, adding to the intense atmosphere of the scene.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    sheet (cut within platemark): 28.7 x 42.5 cm (11 5/16 x 16 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2006.162.3

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Robert-Dumesnil, no. 16

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Paul Prouté, S.A., Paris); Ruth Cole Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased November 16, 1970; gift to NGA, 2006.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1967

  • Robert-Dumesnil, A.P.F. Le peintre-graveur francais, ou catalogue raisonne des estampes gravees par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'ecole francaise, ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de M. Bartsch. Reprint (11 vols. in 6). Paris: F. deNobe

Inscriptions

upper left in plate: MALI, OSTIV / LOVIS; lower left in plate: Rous. Floren. Inven. / Renatus Fecit.

Wikidata ID

Q76355813

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