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Battle of the Sea Gods (right side)

Artist/Maker (Italian, 1431–1506)
Dateca. 1485-88
MediumEngraving
DimensionsImage: 11 5/8 × 15 7/8 in. (29.5 × 40.3 cm)
Sheet: 12 3/4 × 15 7/8 in. (32.4 × 40.3 cm)
Credit LineCharles F. Olney, Mrs. F. F. Prentiss, R. T. Miller Jr., and A. Augustus Healy Funds
Object number1950.126
Status
Not on view
More Information
One of the most significant Italian engravers of the 15th century, Mantegna frequently found inspiration in ancient sources for his compositions and transformed them into images of inventive originality. The shallow field of this half of a battle scene between mythical sea gods and beasts recalls carved reliefs from ancient Roman sarcophagi. But the artist’s attention to anatomical definition and the depth suggested by the carefully incised shading and foreshortening imbue the figures with a vital force behind their aggressive postures. Some view this print as a depiction of artistic envy; the emaciated woman on the left holds a tablet that reads “invid,” the Latin root for “envy.” The gods depicted belong to the Telchines race, a group of sea-living gods who were master metalworkers. They were responsible for the creation of several important metal objects in Greek mythology, including Poseidon’s trident.
Exhibition History
An American University Collection: Works of Art from the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio
  • Kenwood House, London (May 3, 1962 - October 30, 1962 )
Durer's Cities: Nuremberg and Venice
  • University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (September 19, 1971 - October 17, 1971 )
The Renaissance in Oberlin: Graphics from the Permanent Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (November 25, 1986 - December 31, 1986 )
Print Council Exhibition: Selections from the Prints and Drawings Collection at the Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (May 5, 1988 - June 5, 1988 )
The Art of Allusion: Allegorical Images of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (June 13, 1989 - August 13, 1989 )
Classics 210: Intro to Greek and Roman Mythology
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 8, 2002 - June 2, 2002 )
Between Fact and Fantasy: The Artistic Imagination in Print
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 17, 2014 - June 22, 2014 )
Collections
  • European