Horatius Cocles Leaping into the River Tiber

c. 1520/1530

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

The image shows a person in a dynamic and dramatic position. The individual is depicted in detailed armor with a helmet obscuring their facial features. They are gripping a large ring attached to a beam above and their other hand is raised with the palm facing outward. Waves flow around their feet indicating movement through water. The background reveals a landscape with a distant structure resembling a tent, hinting at a possible encampment or fortification. The scene is rendered in intricate shading resembling engravings.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 6.5 × 3.7 cm (2 9/16 × 1 7/16 in.)
    sheet: 6.6 × 3.8 cm (2 5/8 × 1 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.411

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. e. 35, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA, 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 156, a.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. e. 35, state only.

Wikidata ID

Q64952548

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