Battle of the Nudes

c. 1470/1475

Antonio del Pollaiuolo

Associated Names
Antonio del Pollaiuolo

Artist, Italian, c. 1431 - 1498

This is a drawing of a group of warriors in combat amidst a forest setting. The drawing depicts a tumultuous scene where numerous figures are engaged in a battle, wielding weapons. The setting is dense with stylized plant forms and trees. The figures are rendered in a highly detailed manner, displaying muscular anatomy and expressive poses that convey motion. The atmosphere is intense and chaotic, emphasizing the ferocity of the confrontation.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving with extensive retouching in pen and ink on two joined sheets of laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (two joined sheets): 40 × 61 cm (15 3/4 × 24 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1980.45.1161

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hind 'Engravings', Vol. 1, p.191, no. 1, State (Gott impression)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

George Smith, London; (his sale, Sotheby and Wilkinson, London, 11 March 1861, lot 1058); (Colnaghi and Obach, London); purchased by William Gott [1797-1863], Leeds; by descent to his son, Reverend John Gott [1830-1906], Leeds; (his sale, Christies, London, 26 Feb 1913, lot 40); (Colnaghi and Obach, London); (Frederick Keppel, New York, 1913); purchased 1914 by Paul J. Sachs [1878-1965, Cambridge, MA; purchased 1938 by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to the NGA, 1980.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1938

  • Hind, Arthur M. Early Italian Engraving; a critical catalogue with complete reproductions of all the prints described. 7 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1938-1948.

1973

  • Ehrlich, Evelyn, and John Hallmark Neff. The Gott Impression of Pollaiuolo’s Battle of the Nudes. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1973.

2000

  • Walsh, Judith. “The Use of Paper Splitting in Old Master Print Restorations.” Print Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 2000, pp. 383–390.

2002

  • Langdale, Shelley. Battle of the Nudes: Pollaiuolo's Renaissance Masterpiece. Exh. cat. The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2002, no. 45 (state ii/ii).

Wikidata ID

Q65565646

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