Fall of the Giants 1638

"Fall of the Giants" is a 1638 drawing by Italian artist Bartolomeo Coriolano (1599-1676) currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This drawing, done in brown ink, depicts a scene of chaos and destruction. In the top of the composition, a figure appears to be wielding a hammer while surrounded by a cloud of smoke. Below, a group of giants are falling from a rocky precipice with a great deal of anguish and suffering as they tumble towards their inevitable end. This drawing, with its dramatic composition and use of chiaroscuro, provides a glimpse into Coriolano's artistic style and his ability to capture the intensity of a moment.