Standard Bearer 1500 - 1530

"Standard Bearer" (1500-1530) is a drawing by Swiss artist Urs Graf (1485-1529), and is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The work depicts a soldier carrying a banner, his elaborate armor and feathered helmet detailed with a striking white chalk line on a reddish-brown paper. The soldier's posture is almost comical, a subtle commentary on the pomp and circumstance of military display in early 16th-century Europe. Graf's sharp, detailed style, reminiscent of the German Renaissance, emphasizes the decorative aspects of the soldier's attire, suggesting a social critique of the emerging military culture of the time.