About this artwork
This woodcut was taken from Roberto Valturio’s De re militari (Concerning Military Matters), a 12-volume series of books on military practices. While most of the techniques described were innovations of the Roman Empire, they were still essential to medieval and Renaissance warfare. De re militari was the second illustrated book to be printed in Italy, and its text and woodcuts were printed independently. The initial letters were also left unprinted and were intended to be added later by the miniaturists formerly responsible for manually writing entire manuscripts. In 1929, this leaf was recompiled into a portfolio of prints called Woodcuts from Books in the 15th Century, with a historical survey by W. L. Schreiber.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 204
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Matteo de'Pasti
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Title
- Battering Rams from De re militari (Concerning Military Matters), Plate 45 from Woodcuts from Books of the 15th Century
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Place
- Italy (Object made in)
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Date
- Original 1472
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Medium
- Woodcut in black, and letterpress in black (recto and verso), on cream laid paper
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Inscriptions
- Inscribed recto upper left, in pen and brown ink: “3\80.”; center left, in pen and brown ink: “n”
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Dimensions
- 310 × 223 mm (sheet)
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Credit Line
- Print Sales Miscellaneous Fund
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Reference Number
- 1938.86.45
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/129345/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
