A battle of soldiers some on horseback

Master of 1515

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Little is known about this idiosyncratic engraver, whose name derives from the date on one of his prints. It is possible that he can be identified with Agostino Busi, known as Il Bambaia, since several of his architectural prints derive from a sketchbook attributed to that Lombard sculptor, active in Milan in the early sixteenth century. The most distinctive feature of his style, which is close in many respects to that of Mantegna, is the presence of burr-the bits of metal that form on either side of an incision into a metal plate. When not burnished away, this burr absorbs the ink and prints a rich, velvety black, a feature very evident throughout this battle scene.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art