Battle of the Sea Gods / Daniel Hopfer / After a member of the School of Andrea Mantegna (Italian, 1431-1506)
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1996/2.1
- Title
- Battle of the Sea Gods
- Artist
- Daniel Hopfer
- Artist Nationality
- German
- Artist Life Dates
- ca. 1470-1536
- Medium and Support
- etching on iron on medium, slightly textured light beige laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- early 16th century
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Germany (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Germany (nation)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Inscription
- Inscribed in the image, in a tablet held by old woman in upper center, D H, flanking a pinecone; l.l., 97; verso, inscribed in black ink, u.l. corner, M[?] nit/ 7-87; in graphite, u.c., 30; l.l. corner, / [?] D.; BVIII. 485.47/ 64.9.7; in l.c., fr Sir T. Lawrences Coll.
- Collector's marks: stamped in black ink, in the image, l.l.: T.L, surrounded by a double oval [monogram of Sir Thomas Lawrence, Lugt 2446]; verso, l.l., stamped in black ink, CDG, entwined [monogram of Dr. C.D. Ginsburg, Lugt 1145] Watermark: indecipherable
- Dimensions
- 15.8 cm x 23.02 cm (6 1/4 in. x 9 1/16 in.)
- Century
- 16th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- intaglio print
- Secondary Object Classification
- Secondary Object Type
- black and white print
- Physical Description
- This black and white print depicts an animated and detailed scene of nude figures and mythical beasts on the surface of the sea.Two men, with seaweed hair and riding half horse/half fish creatures, strike out at each other. A man and a woman ride a beast with a scaly body and the head of a fierce dog. In the background, a man holding a trident stands with his back to the viewer. Action and motion are expressed with billowing drapery, flowing hair and moving waves. The wide mouthed expressions of the figures and animals suggest yelling and noise in this chaotic scene. Among the many details depicted by the artist is a plaque held by the woman that has his initials.
- Subject Matter
- Daniel Hopfer was a 16th c. German etcher who was first trained as an armor maker and used thin iron plates for his prints - a process he invented. This print depicts one part of a larger composition by the sixteenth-century Northern Italian painter Andrea Mantegna (1430/31–1506), itself based on the relief (shallow) carving decorating a Roman sarcophagus. Mantegna frequently made reference to Roman relief sculpture in his work and his designs in turn inspired the work of engravers, whose prints provided a wider dissemination of his art. This image, in which nude figures astride fantastical creatures dominate, has been interpreted as an allegory on the theme of envy. This impression once belonged to the British painter Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830), whose collector’s mark is visible at the lower left corner.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- armed conflicts
- associated concepts
- bodies of water
- bodies of water and components of bodies of water
- bodies of water by size
- buildings and the land
- creature
- descriptors
- edged weapons
- events
- image-making processes and techniques
- intaglio printing processes
- landscapes (environments)
- mammals
- marine bodies
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- printing and printing processes and techniques
- printing processes
- processes and techniques
- processes and techniques by specific type
- religions and religious concepts
- religious concepts
- settlements and landscapes
- spears (weapons)
- spears by form
- staff weapons
- weapons
- weapons and ammunition
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1295 x 884
- File Size
- 160 KB
- Record
- 1996/2.1
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1996-sl-2.1/1996_2.1.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1996-SL-2.1:1996_2.1.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Battle of the Sea Gods; Daniel Hopfer; After a member of the School of Andrea Mantegna (Italian, 1431-1506)." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1996-sl-2.1/1996_2.1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 22, 2024.
