Italian Joust of Peace

c.1512-1515

German 16th Century

Associated Names
German 16th Century

Artist

This is a painting of a knight unseated from his horse during a jousting scene. The knight, dressed in green and white striped armor, has fallen from his horse. The armor is detailed with a mix of plate metal and fabric. The knight is shown on the ground, legs bent underneath, with one arm reaching out. Above the fallen knight is a horse with a similarly colored caparison, mid-trot, with a broken lance. A cluster of greenery adorns the horse's headgear. The background features lined barriers, suggesting a tournament setting. The painting captures the drama and romance of medieval chivalric tournaments in the style of historical manuscript illustrations, with watercolor-like coloration and careful attention to detail.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with watercolor over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 33.5 × 26.3 cm (13 3/16 × 10 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.4513

  • Series Title

    Freydal, The Book of Jousts and Tournament of Emperor Maximilian I: Combats on Horseback (Volume II)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Frédéric de Pourtalès (1779-1861), Paris; E.P. Goldschmidt (1887-1954), London, c.1914-1918. (Charles Sessler Rare Books, Philadelphia). Purchased 1930 by Lessing J. Rosenwald (L. Supp. 1760b); Gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1926

  • Dodgson, Campbell. "An Unknown MS. of Freydal."The Burlington Magazine. 48 (1926): 235-237+240-242.

1928

  • Dodgson, Campbell. "More Freydal Drawings." The Burlington Magazine. 53 (October 1928): 170-73.

2019

  • Krause, Stefan. "Freydal, das Turnierbuch Kaiser Maximilians I. - Werkbeschreibungen." Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien 21 (2019): 260, repro. 261.

Inscriptions

upper right by unknown hand in brown ink, on separate paper pasted down: Fraydall gestochen auff wellisch in ainer ganntzen praun zendlen deck, auff dem helm ain rosmarinkranntz mitt guldin schnuern; upper left by unknown hand in graphite: not numbered (No 118); lower center by unkown hand in brown ink: Franciscus de Montibus; lower left on mount in black ink: 118; lower right on mount in black ink: A 38

Wikidata ID

Q64571916