Shop art print and framed art Combat d'hommes nus by Antonio del Pollaiuolo

Combat d'hommes nus is a burin engraving using the niello technique, produced around 1465-1475 by the Florentine goldsmith and sculptor Antonio Pollaiuolo. It is considered one of the most important and remarkable prints of the Italian Renaissance. Combat d'hommes nus depicts ten naked athletes, including five men wearing headbands and five without, armed with swords, axes, bows or daggers, fighting against a lush backdrop. We don't know whether Pollaiuolo was simply repeating existing models or whether he was trying to depict realistic or approximate bodies in his own way. His studies contain errors of anatomy, but in some cases these errors can allow artists to give their figures a different meaning, by modifying the figures and the structure of their bodies. Just because muscles are represented in a very accentuated way does not mean that they are placed correctly [ref. needed]. Pollaiuolo's work is narrative, the figures appear to be in movement rather than frozen. The representation of these ten naked men is all contraction, yet it is not possible for a man to pose in full action with his whole body in extreme musculature. There are two planes in his work: in the foreground, we see the ten naked men in action, who appear to be illuminated from the front"; in the background, we see the dense vegetation of the place where this scene is taking place, which is perceived by the viewer as much darker, allowing the men to be brought to the fore. We can also make out two trees [...]

 

This artwork is a poster from the renaissance period.

 

« Combat d'hommes nus » is kept at Musée du Louvre (Collection Rothschild), Paris, France.

 

Find the full description of Combat d'hommes nus by Antonio del Pollaiuolo on Wikipedia.