Battle Scene 16th-17th century

Antonio Tempesta rendered this battle scene with pen and brown ink, accented by brown wash and watercolor, sometime in the late 16th or early 17th century. The drama of battle and the clash of bodies was a central preoccupation of the period. This interest was driven by ongoing conflicts across Europe, of course, but the visual arts played a key role in shaping attitudes toward these events. Often, prints and drawings valorized military virtues. Consider, for example, the rearing horses and the central soldier who is caught in the act of felling his enemy. What is the status of the crowd in the background? Are they participants in the fray? Are they a removed audience, like museum-goers today? To gain a better understanding of these scenes, historians consult military manuals, popular literature, and the writings of contemporary political theorists. In doing so, we discover how art is tied to the shifting political, economic, and military conditions of its time.