Italian Joust of Peacec.1512-1515

This is a drawing of two armored figures on horseback engaged in a joust. Both knights are clad in ornate armor and mounted on horses as they participate in the match. The scene captures the moment of impact, with splintered lances flying in the air. One knight in silver armor with blue accents is being unseated from his horse, while the other knight in red and silver armor remains mounted. Both horses are draped in colors matching their riders' armors. The focus is on the dynamic action and energy of the joust, with fine details showing the armor's shine and the movement of the horses. The drawing is bordered, and there is some script at the top and bottom.

Description from the National Gallery of Art.

An unrecorded German artist painted this in about 1512-1515. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

How it was made

Watercolour

Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

Pen and ink

Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.

Laid paper

Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

Renaissance

European art from about 1400 to 1600, when painters rediscovered perspective and the classical past.

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