Mock Joust of War with Flying Shields and Without Bevorsc.1512-1515

This is a drawing of two armored knights on horseback during a joust. It depicts two horses with riders clad in full armor, including helmets with decorative details. Each knight holds a lance, poised as if they are about to engage in a jousting match. The horses are also adorned in armor, with a colorful caparison draped over them. On the ground, there are lances and a halberd seen in the foreground. There are also disembodied arms and hands illustrated in the composition, adding an abstract element. The style is illustrative, capturing the medieval theme of chivalric tournaments.

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

Chalk

Natural black, red and white chalks. Used together on toned paper they could give the warmth of flesh with very little effort, and they were favourites for studies from life.

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.

Renaissance

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

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