Combat of the Gladiators

Date1562

MediumEngraving

Credit LineArt History Department Fund

Dimensions13 1/8 x 18 1/2 in. (33.3 x 47 cm)

Object number1993.005

Label TextBy the second half of the sixteenth century printmaking in northern Europe had moved beyond the artist's workshop to become a thriving business with specialists overseeing the various steps in publication. The Antwerp publisher Hieronymus Cock employed talented engravers like Philips Galle, who could adapt his technique to match the styles of different artists in order to reproduce faithfully their designs. Through this enterprise the Italian artist Luca Penni's drawing of the Combat of the Gladiators was disseminated across Europe.

Translation of Latin inscription: [This is an image of] the ancient ritual of gladiatorial games that used to be held with great cruelty at the funerals of illustrious men among the ancients in their ignorance of piety and true religion.

Exhibition HistoryThe Art of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Michael C. Carlos Museum, November 8, 1997 - January 4, 1998
Invention and Revival: Northern European Prints, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 12 - May 15, 2005
Published ReferencesMichael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 122.

ProvenancePurchased by MCCM from Jan Johnson Old Master & Modern Prints Inc, Quebec, Canada.

InscribedTranslation of Latin inscription: [This is an image of] the ancient ritual of gladiatorial games that used to be held with great cruelty at the funerals of illustrious men among the ancients in their ignorance of piety and true religion

MarkingsBR: L.pene iuen 1562 H cock excu.

Status

Not on view

Collections