Battle Scene

Swiss School

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing from the Swiss School, dating from about 1510. The drawing shows a large crowd of people carrying spears and axes. In the lower right corner, two long boats are pulling into shore and men a stepping from the boats, while in the upper right corner, crowds of men are operating canons which are pointing into the composition. In the lower left corner is a simple drawing of a town. This is a line drawing with little shading. Text in the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society: "No. 30 SWISS SCHOOL, ABOUT 1510 BATTLE SCENE Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth. Pen and ink. 26.7 x 30.7 cm. (10 1/2 x 12 in.). No watermark. The drawing probably represents some incident in the Swiss war against Charles the Bold of Burgundy, but the costumes belong to the early years of the sixteenth century. The drawing is more interesting for its subject than for artistic quality; its perspective in particular is extremely weak. Among drawings at Basle which were shown to me by Dr. E. von Meyenburg for comparison with this, the nearest to it is an oblong composition in which soldiers are scaling the walls of a fortress (U. 6. 11.); the two are not, however, by the same hand. C. D."