Battle Before Troy
1535–55
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 12 5/8 × 17 5/8 in. (32 × 44.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.1903
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Battle Before Troy," an etching attributed to Jean Mignon and Penni from around 1535–55, captures the chaotic fury of the Trojan War in dynamic Renaissance style. These French artists, part of the influential Fontainebleau School, drew inspiration from Italian masters like Rosso Fiorentino, classical mythology with Mannerist elegance. The scene teems with armored warriors clashing amid rearing horses and gleaming weapons, evoking Homer's epic tales of heroism and tragedy outside the fabled walls of Troy. ching, the medium here, marked a revolutionary printmaking technique in the 16th century...