Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)

Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)

Lattanzio Gambara

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The drawing has been attributed to Lattanzio Gambara by Giulio Bora (note on the mount in 2003, and more recently confirmed by written communication to Furio Rinaldi on July 9, 2014). Following Bora's opinion, the drawing is likely preparatory for a fresco decoration in Brescia, and can be dated to the early 1550's, when Gambara's style and draftmanship was close to that of Giulio Campi.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)Antique Naval Battle (recto); A Battle Scene (verso)

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.