The Lost Art... a picture from 20 years ago.
July 7, 2006 5:38 PM Subscribe
ArtFilter: This is a long shot... I'm trying to find a painting that I first saw in high school in my European History class. I don't know the name or the artist, but I can describe it...
It must have been post-renaissance. It was a scene of a battle, one of those kinds of paintings where the closer you get to it the more detail you see... thousands and thousands of bodies (alive and dead), horses, chariots, etc. All taking place in a big scene looking down into what could be a valley. Dramatic lighting and clouds above - lots of rays of light shining down... almost an angelic presence in the air, as well as hints of demonology. It was a picture of an epic battle. It was probably oil on canvas... Any ideas??
It must have been post-renaissance. It was a scene of a battle, one of those kinds of paintings where the closer you get to it the more detail you see... thousands and thousands of bodies (alive and dead), horses, chariots, etc. All taking place in a big scene looking down into what could be a valley. Dramatic lighting and clouds above - lots of rays of light shining down... almost an angelic presence in the air, as well as hints of demonology. It was a picture of an epic battle. It was probably oil on canvas... Any ideas??
Best answer: Albrecht Altdorfer's "The Battle of Issus," 1529, oil on wood, 521/4 x 47 1/4, in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
posted by naxosaxur at 6:18 PM on July 7, 2006
posted by naxosaxur at 6:18 PM on July 7, 2006
Response by poster: Wow - you guys ROCK! That's it! Thank You!!!!!!
posted by matty at 6:59 PM on July 7, 2006
posted by matty at 6:59 PM on July 7, 2006
Response by poster: Now, if I only knew what the writing on the banner above the battle says...
posted by matty at 7:04 PM on July 7, 2006
posted by matty at 7:04 PM on July 7, 2006
The writing is clearly supposed to be a description of what's going on in the painting. It's supposed to be a depiction of Alexander the Great's Battle of Issus (or Issos), but the armor is obviously much more modern than that. I saw somewhere that it was supposed to relate the Battle of Issus with a more recent battle in which Holy Roman Emperor Charles V participated.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:51 PM on July 7, 2006
posted by cerebus19 at 7:51 PM on July 7, 2006
You can read most of the banner here, though you'll have to know Latin to be able to understand much more than "Alexander."
posted by cerebus19 at 7:54 PM on July 7, 2006
posted by cerebus19 at 7:54 PM on July 7, 2006
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posted by cerebus19 at 6:16 PM on July 7, 2006