The shield of French King Henry II made in 1555.

[rod]

This splendid example of design and execution is presently housed in the New York Met. Museum, and this link will give a better resolution:

http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/aa/original/aa34.85.R.jpg

yet it warrants even greater magnification to appreciate fully the detail. A small part of the shield filled the back and front of a recent members journal.

I am not one to glorify war, yet I concede blood has often been shed that I and others might have the privilege of even saying such words in public, and that includes the blood of my father. I do however glorify good composition. If battle is to be your chosen subject, then the central characters are compelling, and everything about the surrounding field of slaughter, out to the complex and well arranged borders. Quality is top notch in the amalgam of repousie, chasing, gold inlay, and engraving.

The shield is about 25 inches high by 18 inches wide.

Rod

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Thanks Rod. I don't know much of that history, I only can look at a nice work that was done here.
What pops my mind is that during those days, one hour less or more, even a week less or more or a year less or more wasn't that important as long as it was worth waiting for.
Here in Europe we have cathedrals that took several lifetimes to complete.
Of course we artists now a days need to be more commercial unless we find a collector who gives us "carte blanche"

arnaud

 

[Roger Bleile]

Thanks for the image Rod. I don't remember seeing that shield the last time I was at the Met. Perhaps it was not on display at that time. It looks like the work of the 16th century Negroli workshop led by Gian Giacomo and his sons Filippo, Giovan Battista, and Francesco. Filippo was the repoussé specialist and Francesco is known for damascening. The Negrolis were not the only ones doing this kind of work but were the most prominent.

BTW, I wonder if there is some significance or symbolism to the central figure showing his bare buttocks.:thinking:

Cheers,
Roger

Shown below is a Negroli helment at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

[Barry Lee Hands]

You did a great job on that, I didnt realize you were that old, hehe

 

[rod]

Yes, Roger,

Your breadth of knowledge is encyclopedic! The ceremonial helmet (burgonet) you show here is one of my favorite pieces. The Google Art Project shows it on their Met selection:

http://www.googleartproject.com/col...ppo-negroli-italian-milan-ca-15101579/653010/

If anyone has not browsed the Google Art Project, you should, the resolution on paintings and objects is amazing. You can zoom in on the above piece and see better detail than you can see when standing in front of the piece.

I am not sure about the bare butts on the shield, they are certainly well crafted. I do know that Henry II did have both his queen and his mistress carved into his armour, and it is also in the Met, I believe?

Arnauld,

It helps if it is the king that gives you the commission, although I hear tell that the rich are often reluctant to pay their bills?

Barry, if I were asked to make that shield in 1555, I would still be trying to figure it out in the year 2012?

Happy Thanksgiving guys!

best

Rod

 

[Titian]

Wowwwwwww !!!!

 

[Ed Westerly]

Very cool stuff. show us more!

 

[rod]

Roger,

A bit more information on the shield

... "The battle scene at the center depicts the victory of Hannibal and the Carthaginians over the Romans at Cannae in 216 B.C., an allusion to the struggle of France against the armies of the Holy Roman Empire during the sixteenth century. In the strapwork borders are the intertwined letters "H" for Henry II (r. 1547–59); "C" for Catherine de Médicis, his queen; and "D" for Diane de Poitiers, his mistress. Interspersed with the initials are crescents, the king's personal badge and a reference to the moon goddess Diana and her namesake Diane de Poitiers.

The design of the shield is attributed to the Parisian goldsmith and printmaker Étienne Delaune (1518/19–1583), who probably also designed the armor of Henry II in the Museum's collection (39.121)...."

Rod

 

[Andrew Biggs]

It certainly is breathtaking work alright.

I've never heard of the Google Art Project....looks like something that is well worth looking at a lot more closely. Thanks for the link Rod.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[rod]

Andrew,

A great example of the unbelievable resolution available in the Google Art Project is to open this link to the "The Ambassadors" painting:

http://www.googleartproject.com/col...-ambassadors-hans-holbein-the-younger/328434/

Using the cursor to the right, you may zoom in on the various artifacts to an astonishing degree, or the eyelashes of one of the characters.

If your internet speed is slow, give the painting time to load, and watch it resolve to high resolution.

This 16th century painting also includes what looks like a diagonal blob near the bottom. It is a perspective trick that resolves to a human skull, when viewed at a certain angle, conveniently resolving into focus as the viewer leaves by a side door from the room where once the painting was hung in the 16th century.

If you have trouble opening it in Firefox, download Google Chrome for free, as Chrome is a better search engine in this case.

Rod

 

[mrthe]

Wow very beautyfull pics,very interesting !

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Roger, shall we give the helmet a try? I will do one in Ti if you do one in steel.

arnaud

 

[Roger Bleile]

Arnaud,

I wouldn't know where to start! My admiration for the early craftsmen like Negroli is immense. :bow:

 

[Doc Mark]

Whoever the marvelous craftsman was who designed this wonderful shield, he most definitely was familiar with Michelangelo's Medici tomb sculptures. The nudes flanking the Medusa head on top and the ones on the bottom of the shield are derivative works from Michelangelo.

Edited to add: I just noticed that Roger mentioned the link to the Medici family directly with this shield. No wonder there were references to their tombs incorporated into the design!

 

[rod]

Since I have the Met Museum New York's Art Bulletin Summer 2012 publication ($8 at http://www.amazon.com/The-Metropolitan-Museum-Art-Bulletin/dp/B009BQOT6U), I thought you might be interested in more detailed photos of Henry II's shield and some other examples of good design and craft when arms and armor is the subject, and well heeled noblemen are the commissioners. These are worth noting, when we see it is the great museums experts who have chosen the objects from their collection. There are plenty of collections to rival the Met, for sure, yet these are pretty good. Please note these are photos of photos taken hand held at close focus, so ignore the camera artifact that tends to bend straight lines. My intention here is to encourage you to visit the Met, and even become a member.

Roger, further on the bare butt explanation, a local well informed source on armor of that period said to me that the pants were not belted around the body but held on with tags, that in the heat of battle could be cut, but that very obvious defect you would think would not be good design? Maybe I got the full story wrong and will ask him once more.

I reject the suggestion that the central warrior is a metaphor of the USA's present dilemma, the warrior's sword and shield represent the armed forces budget, and the bare behind represents the deficit...

Rod

 

[rod]

As promised, here is some interesting trivia on losing your pants in 16th century European conflict, sent to me by a friend, Tim, who is well researched in matters of arms, he wrote:

" .....In the 15th and 16th centuries style "joined hose" were the standard leg wear. These are snug-fitting garments, essentially like tights, made with cloth cut on the bias for stretch. They were held up by tying them to the doublet (the fitted body garment worn over the shirt), at several points around the waist. The ties passed through eyelet holes worked into the hose as well as the doublet.

This system had some real problems. When one bends over, a great deal of stress is placed on the points at the center back. Most period depictions of working men show the hose sagging at the back, and often you can see the torn points! The ties at the front and sides hold up pretty well, because we don't bend much that way - but in extreme exercise, they can get torn as well.

So in battle, almost everyone will have saggy drawers! Period artists often seem to have had a great deal of fun with this. The 16th century was a time of pretty "racy" art, lots more nudity and scandalous depictions than had previously been acceptable. There was a fad for cut-and slashed clothing, which was often quite revealing. Also, soldiers had a bad reputation, so there may be an element of social commentary involved.

Complicated stuff, as with everything historical! ...."

You live and learn ...

Rod