Battle of the Naked Men
Today we look at a number of vintage naked military men in the form of artworks representing naked men fighting.
Battle of the Nude Men is a print by Italian Renaissance artist Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498). Copies of the print are in many museums. This one is in the Cincinnati Art Museum.
No one knows exactly what the battle depicts. Some think it's an episode from Roman history. The chain that the two central figures grasp may suggest that they are gladiators. Some think it commemorates the death of a contemporary Florentine nobleman. The date of the artwork is also uncertain – some say 1470s, some say 1480s
Above is Battle of Naked Men by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506). The work was described as "after Pollaiuolo", but dated in the 1460s, which is earlier than Pollaiuolo's work. However, the dates of all of these works seem to be quite uncertain. What we can be certain about is that we have more naked warriors fighting.
This theme seems to have persisted throughout the Renaissance. Above is Battle of Naked Men, 1517, by Domenico Campagnola (1500-1564), a later Italian Renaissance artist.
This is Combat of Naked Men, c. 1535-1555, by French artist Jean Mignon, copying an original by Italian artist Luca Penni (1500-1556).
We end with Battle of the Naked Men, c. 1550-1560, by French artist Etienne Delaune (1518-1595).
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