Antonio pollaiuolo’s battle of ten nudes has been called the single most important engraving in european history However, the artist’s latin signature suggests it also had an audience educated in. Clearly based on classical antiquity (the cultures of ancient greece and rome), the print is monumental in size (approximately 15 x 23 inches) and, because of its shallow space, resembles ancient roman relief sculpture
In the picture, five men wearing headbands fight against an. The print may have functioned as a model for workshop apprentices studying human anatomy while learning to draw Another interpretation suggests that the ten nude figures locked in combat may be gladiators fighting in funeral games, and the print itself may have commemorated the death of a prominent florentine
Mantegna's battle of the sea gods Image, materiality, space_, edited by suzanne karr schmidt and edward h Oxon and new york, 2017 An authentic icon in the history of engraving, this is one of the most famous of the many images reproduced using the new printing methods of the early renaissance, and the first work to be clearly signed by its maker.
The engraving is large at 42.4 x 60.9 cm and depicts five men wearing headbands and five men without, who are. Description this engraving is one of the earliest renaissance prints to portray the nude male body in action Antonio del pollaiuolo’s grimacing warriors appear like clones in different poses
