A Landsknecht

Unknown Artist Possibly Swiss, 17th century →

pen and ink drawingsdrawings (visual works)

Date

n.d.

Medium

Brush and black ink, with brown wash, over black chalk, on cream laid paper

Dimensions

30.7 × 19.5 cm (12 1/8 × 7 11/16 in.)

Museum

Art Institute of Chicago

Location

Chicago, IL

Credit

The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection

This mercenary has been depicted in the midst of battle, actively posed and ready to dispatch an enemy with his two-handed sword. The broad brushstrokes and bold shading add to the figure’s rough demeanor. The lower fragments completing the helmet and the piece of armor on the ground were reattached after being found pasted onto tears on the verso.

Also notable

Works in the same vein

Portrait of Whistler in Spanish 17th Century Costume

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley English, 1872-1898

Henry Gibbs

Artist unknown (American, 17th–18th century)

St. Francis of Assisi in Prayer

Unknown Artist possibly Italian, 17th century

Clorinda Rescues Olindo and Sophronia

Unknwon artist Italian, 17th century