Battle of Nude Men, from the series Combats and Triumphs

Artist Charles Etienne Delaune (French, 1518–1595)

Dateca. 1561–73

MediumEngraving on laid paper

DimensionsImage: 2 1/2 x 8 5/8 inches (6.4 x 21.9 cm);
Sheet: 2 11/16 x 8 11/16 inches (6.8 x 22.1 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of Theodore B. Donson, Class of 1960, and Marvel M. Griepp

Terms

Engraving
Arrows
Bows
Male nudes
Spears
Warfare
Weapons
laid
French

Object number78.094.005

Label CopyThis print is one of a series of twelve in horizontal format, all of which draw their inspiration ultimately from Roman relief carvings. This particular composition is also interesting from the standpoint of the exploration of the New World during this century. The leaf-shaped clubs and feathered garments, as well as the implication of cannibalism by the men who bite each other, are drawn from accounts and images of indigenous Americans brought back by explorers. Indeed, one of the most famous essays by French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), entitled "Of Cannibals," was inspired by his encounter in Rouen in 1562 with three Brazilian Tupinambá Indians who had been brought to France by the explorer Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon (1510-1571). Cannibalism was sometimes used as a metaphor for the violence between countrymen during the wars of religion.

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