Two Landsknechts
The two landsknechts, varying slightly in height and in costume, originally served as candle holders; candles were inserted in the holes in their raised hands. Bronze projections from the insteps of the taller soldier indicate that the figures belong to a common sixteenth-century type, of brass as well as of bronze, in which the feet often stood on flared stems riding from circular bases.[1] The folkloric designs were popular again in the nineteenth century; a thinly cast copy of one of our landsknechts appears on a candlestick in the reserves of the Louvre, paired with a variant model.[2]
[James David Draper, The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1984, p. 165, nos. 82, 83]
Footnotes:
[1] V. Baur, Kerzenleuchter aus Metall, Munich, 1977, pls. 58–61; E. Turner, An Introduction to Brass, London, 1982, pl. 13.
[2] G. Migeon, Catalogue des bronzes et cuivres du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes, Paris, Musée National du Louvre, 1904, no. 119.
[James David Draper, The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1984, p. 165, nos. 82, 83]
Footnotes:
[1] V. Baur, Kerzenleuchter aus Metall, Munich, 1977, pls. 58–61; E. Turner, An Introduction to Brass, London, 1982, pl. 13.
[2] G. Migeon, Catalogue des bronzes et cuivres du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes, Paris, Musée National du Louvre, 1904, no. 119.
Artwork Details
- Title: Two Landsknechts
- Date: mid-16th century
- Culture: German, probably Nuremberg
- Medium: Bronze, with natural brown patina, and remains of black lacquer
- Dimensions: Height (.118): 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm); Height (.119): 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
- Credit Line: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
- Object Number: 1982.60.118, .119
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Hans Daucher
ca. 1520
German, Nuremberg
probably first quarter 16th century
Daniel Mauch
1530
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1553
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1580–90
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