Plate from "Divers Trophées" (Weapon Trophies after the Façade of Palazzo Milesi in Rome) (1651, Met-Objekt 2290)
Original title: Plate from "Divers Trophées" (Weapon Trophies after the Façade of Palazzo Milesi in Rome)
kurzbeschreibung
Polidoro da Caravaggio supplied the design for this 1651 etching, which presents a lavish array of weapons and armour pieces. The sheet belongs to the series 'Divers Trophées', whose motifs derive from the facade paintings of the Palazzo Milesi in Rome. Executed as a copper engraving, it displays a decorative trophy composition.
Description
The eye is drawn first to an elaborately decorated helmet flanked by two angels and topped with a prominent spike. To its left appears a large round shield with ornaments, while on the right a sword and a shield with an arrow are arranged. Further armour pieces and a lion's head on a column beam can be seen in the background. The border is richly designed and furnished with additional details. At the bottom is an oval with the inscription 'Polidorus Caravagiiensis Inue't Pinxit Roma' as well as information about production and publisher.
Context
The trophies are based on works by Polidoro da Caravaggio, a Renaissance painter who around 1520 decorated the facade of the Palazzo Milesi in Rome with monochrome paintings. The etching itself was made in 1651, more than a century later, by an unnamed engraver after these facade paintings. Such reproductive prints made designs by important artists known and served decorators and craftsmen as models. The sheet belongs to a series that gathered various trophy motifs from antiquity and the Renaissance.
Impact
The arrangement strikes the viewer as exceptionally splendid and representative through its symmetrical structure and wealth of ornament. The densely staggered weapons create an almost monumental effect reminiscent of triumphal displays. The precise linework of the copper engraving gives the sheet a noble graphic clarity.
Technique
The graphic uses the technique of copper engraving: lines are incised into a copper plate and then printed. This allows very fine and exact details, as visible in the ornaments and figures. The sheet measures 22.4 x 30.5 centimetres (sheet: 8 13/16 x 12 inches).
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)