A horseman, flanked by winged female centaurs
Engraving, with a pear-shaped ornamental design with scrolling motifs and grotesque figures on black grounds, likely created by Étienne Delaune before 1573. The print consists of a horseman, in the center, his head covered by a helmet, and armed with a shield and a spear, enclosed by a frame made up of two C-scrolls, flanked by branches of laurel, flanked to the sides by two winged, female centaurs. The union of the two branches of laurel, on the upper part of the print, is glanked by a female term with dragonfly wings, and emerge two cornucopias, holding bundles of fruits and leaves on the sides of the lower body of the term. The term holds two scrolling branches on its hands, from which hang two war trophies: on the left, made up of a carcasse, a spear and a sword, and on the right, made up of shields and a sword. Framed by laurel leaves, the horseman in the center of this print is related to virtue; the war trophies above him and the promise of life alluded by the abundance in the cornucopias, might be representations to his triumph. The identity of this horseman, however, is unclear.
Artwork Details
- Title: A horseman, flanked by winged female centaurs
- Artist: Etienne Delaune (French, Orléans 1518/19–1583 Strasbourg)
- Date: before 1573
- Medium: Engraving
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 1 7/8 × 1 7/8 in. (4.8 × 4.7 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1955
- Object Number: 55.660.10
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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