Battle of Troy from Virgil's Aeneid
Johann Reinhard Gruninger, German, 1483 - 1530
Sebastian Brant, German, 1458 - 1521
1502
Woodcut on paper
Sheet: 7 1/4 × 6 in. (18.4 × 15.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
PR.972.157
Geography
Place Made: Germany, Europe
Period
1400-1600
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Label
Once part of a book, this page illustrates the Battle of Troy from Virgil’s Aeneid. Beginning with the story of the Greek fight against the city of Troy, the famous epic poem remained widely read and translated over the centuries. This ancient war scene has been transferred to late medieval Germany. Crenelated towers rise in the background, while the troops massing and ready for battle on either side wear contemporary armor. Banderoles with names throughout help identify the characters. At the center of the image, one woman looks on, her face contorted in pain. Labelled above as Cassandra, she famously warned of the fall of Troy. Fated to tell the truth but not be believed, she can only witness helplessly as her prophecies of bloody defeat unfold.
From the exhibition Recording War: Images of Violence 1500 – 1900, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming
Course History
ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022
Anthropology 3.01, Introduction to Anthropology, Charis Ford Morrison Boke 1, Summer 2023
Studio Art 27.01/28.01/74.01, Printmaking I/II/III, Josh Dannin, Summer 2023
German 10.06, A Visual History of Germany, Heidi Denzel, Winter 2024
Facilitated Experience: Special Tour - From Goya to Photojournalism, Summer 2023
Exhibition History
Recording War: Images of Violence, 1500-1900, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 23-December 9, 2023.
Provenance
Source unknown; catalogued, 1972.
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