Battle of Eighteen Nude Men, Barthel Beham | Mia

nude men engaged in hand-to-hand combat, many with shields, arrows, clubs, daggers, etc.; men standing to fight in rear with others crouching and on ground in front row — Battle of Eighteen Nude Men, c. 1528
Barthel Beham
Engraving
Gift of Elizabeth, Julie, and Catherine Andrus in memory of John and Marion Andrus 2015.93.36
Not on View
Battle friezes were opportunities to show off an artist’s anatomical skill. This one was inspired by reliefs on ancient sarcophagi, or stone coffins. At times, a single pose is cleverly rendered from front and back, like the tilted pair near the right. The flat background indicates the image may have been intended as armor decoration.

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Details

Title: Battle of Eighteen Nude Men
Dated: c. 1528
Artist: Barthel Beham
Nationality: German
Artist Life: 1502–1540
Role: Artist
Gallery: Not on View
Department: European Art
Dimension: 2 1/8 × 11 1/2 in. (5.4 × 29.21 cm) (sheet)
Credit: Gift of Elizabeth, Julie, and Catherine Andrus in memory of John and Marion Andrus
Accession Number: 2015.93.36
Medium: Engraving
Country: Germany
Century: 16th century
Provenance: [P. & D. Colnaghi, London.] Accessioned by Cleveland Museum of Art in 1957('), sold as duplicate on June 12, 1980. John E. Andrus III, Wayzata, Minn.; by descent to his daughters, Elizabeth, Katie, and Julie; gave to MIA, 2015. Earlier provenances have been gathered, but further research will increase our knowledge of their histories.
Rights: Public Domain
Classification: Prints; Works on Paper
Object Name: Print
Catalogue Raisonne: Pauli, Hollstein 25; Bartsch 16 (vol. 8, p. 90)
Wikipedia: Cite this information
Metadata: Click here to see the machine readable JSON data that underpins this page.
Curator Approved: This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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