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Shield

Attributed to Girolamo da Treviso Italian
ca. 1535
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 374
This is one of a small group of Renaissance pageant shields painted on both their interiors and exteriors with scenes from Roman history and Classical mythology in grisaille (tones of gray) on a ground of gold leaf. Many of the details are rendered in sgraffito (the technique of scratching through a surface to reveal a different color underneath, in this case, gold). The gold thus exposed is impressed with comma-shaped marks to heighten its light-reflecting quality. Girolamo da Treviso was one of the few sixteenth-century artists to employ the demanding sgraffito technique, which had gone out of fashion by the late fifteenth century.

The battle scenes on the inside of the shield, perhaps illustrating episodes from the life of the Roman general Scipio, show a keen observation of Classical costume and armor, both of which were known from antique sculpture and coins. The style of painting, the physical types, and the energetic poses are strongly indebted to Giulio Romano (about 1499–1546), who was Raphael's assistant and later was the court painter to the dukes of Mantua. Girolamo da Treviso worked with Giulio in Mantua in 1527.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shield
  • Maker: Attributed to Girolamo da Treviso (Italian, Treviso ca. 1498–1544 Boulogne-sur-Mer)
  • Date: ca. 1535
  • Geography: probably Bologna
  • Culture: Italian, probably Bologna
  • Medium: Wood, linen, gesso, gold leaf, polychromy
  • Dimensions: Diam. 24 5/8 in. (62.53 cm), D. approx. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm)
  • Classification: Shields
  • Credit Line: Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942
  • Object Number: 42.50.16
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Allegory of the Triumph of Death over Church and State, Girolamo da Treviso Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush with brown and gray-blue wash, highlighted with white gouache, on brownish paper (probably blue originally).
Allegory of the Triumph of Death over Church and State
Girolamo da Treviso
ca. 1538–44
The Virgin and Child with Saints, Girolamo da Treviso Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache
The Virgin and Child with Saints
Girolamo da Treviso
1498–1544
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe), Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver, German
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)
German
ca. 1450
Tournament or Cavalry Shield (Targe), Wood, leather, gesso, silver, paint, probably Austrian
Tournament or Cavalry Shield (Targe)
probably Austrian
early 15th century
Sallet in the Shape of a Lion's Head, Steel, copper, gold, glass, pigment, textile, Italian
Sallet in the Shape of a Lion's Head
Italian
ca. 1475–80

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