The Battle of Pavia

Description In 1521, King Francis I of France declared war against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and, in 1525, France was defeated at the battle of Pavia, in northern Italy. In this engraved relief, the artist has depicted the events in a style and technique reminiscent of ancient art, thereby lending the event a timeless, mythic status. An inscription indicates that it was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici (1511-35) in Rome. The engraving expressed his support of Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire.

Exhibitions

• Events in the Life of Jean Grolier. Grolier Club, New York. 1979.

Provenance Raoul Heilbronner, Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters