The Arts of War
Not on view
Two young men are shown here being fitted with greaves, armor that protects the lower leg. The print is based on a group from a large fresco that Leighton painted at the new South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum) in London, titled "The Industrial Arts as Applied to War" (1868–70). The large arched composition shows groups of men and women on steps that lead to the fortified gate of an Italian hill-town, and broadly echoes Raphael's "School of Athens." Leighton includes many details of rich Renaissance-style costume and contrasts these with the functional, hard-edged armor that the soldiers try on.
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