A Battle of Nude Men

1744/1745

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

This is a drawing of two muscular figures in dynamic poses. The drawing features a strong composition with two figures depicted in movement. The figures are rendered with fluid lines, capturing the tension in their muscles and the intensity of their actions. The background is filled with lines and shading, adding to the sense of motion and drama. The use of line weight and shadow conveys a sense of depth. The drawing is framed with a border focusing attention on the central action.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and dark brown ink with brown and gray-brown wash over red chalk on laid paper pasted down on the remains of the artist's original mount

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 25.8 × 18.4 cm (10 3/16 × 7 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.143

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Thomas LeClaire, Hamburg); Wolfgang Ratjen [1943-1997], Vaduz and Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung, Vaduz, 1995, no. 46.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 46.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011, no. 52.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 86.

Bibliography

1985

  • Thomas Le Claire Kunsthandel. Handzeichnungen alter Meister, 1500-1800. Vol. 3. Hamburg, 1985: 56-57, no. 31.

1989

  • Ekserdjian, David. "Piranesi and Titian" The Burlington Magazine 131, no. 1039 (October 1989): 702-703, fig. 32.

1990

  • Titian, Prince of Painters. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1990: 258, under no. 38 (entry by Giovanna Nepi Scirè).

1995

  • Lachenmann, David. Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Vaduz, 1995: no. 46.

1996

  • Lachenmann, David. Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. Exh. cat. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996: no. 46.

2008

  • Von Leonardo bis Piranesi: Italienische Zeichnungen von 1450 bis 1800 aus dem Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Hamburger Kunsthalle. Bremen, 2008: 186, under no. 86.

2009

  • Klemm, David. Italienische Zeichnungen, 1450-1800: Zeichnungen aus dem Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Cologne, 2009: 2: 282, 283 under no. 407*.

2011

  • Italian Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection 1525-1835. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011: 120-121.

Inscriptions

lower right, brown ink, signed: Piranesi; verso of Piranesi's mount, at lower right in brown ink [upside down]: B. P. L. 115; upper left, graphite: 19/2324

Watermarks

single circle containing a six pointed star with circle in its center (similar to Briquet 6086/6087 and Heawood 3883, but range of dates and location too wide to be useful)

Wikidata ID

Q64572357

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