Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1465 to 70). Battle of the Nudes [engraving]. Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio.

The noticeable twisting of the forms nudges this work toward the abstraction end of the scale, but it remains fixed in the realistic portion. A consistent scale and “buffer” of space is applied to each subject, causing their arrangement to take on an alternating design format with all action and movement well within the established boundaries and directed into the canvas.

This seems to be a thematic perceptual work driven by the needs or goals of the artist. A singular, specific person is studied from a variety of angles, activities and differences between engagement and freedom from it. It can easily be argued that all visual art is an active study in one way or another, but this work seems to put experimentation and a search for formal proportions unapololgetically foremost.

Clearly value is the sum of this work. Pollaiuolo’s formatting of background (denser) and figure (lighter) and their before-mentioned arrangement create a harmonizing value pattern for this work and grounds its sense of pictorial depth. Line is used to define shapes and model figures. Pollaiuolo has managed to create a lush texture to give the background life in spite of being limited to etching-based value. The sharp global definition of edges and shapes tends to flatten this work. He seems to dislike foreshortened forms. In the end, there is a respectable illusion of depth.

Line is to this work what points of light are to raster images. They define shapes but not in the same manner as comic books. Shape definition through strong value contrasts applies. There is an undeniable dominance of organic figurative shapes responsible for the action of the foreground which is only repeated by the forms that populate the dense background. The study of the subjects, which all relate in size and modelling, is an exercise in beauty that is harshly contrasted by the uncompromising, wicked character of the weapons they carry. All violence is implied as no actual blood is visible.

The foreground separates from the background in part because the figures are mildly highlighted with a higher key. Overall, the directional thrusts, while forceful, meander across the page, always redirected toward the center of the canvas. Combined with the consistent embellishment of style, no single region or interaction between figures overpowers any other. They all attract a similar level of interest, however the center figures, due to their location, reflective characters and sizes, are the starting point.

By treating each figure with roughly equal development, Pollaiuolo has in a non-obvious way focused attention on the single individual he has used as the subject of this piece. He has encapsulated on the picture plane one of the greatest strengths of in-the-round sculpture by allowing the observer access to all perspectives of the figure, with the added benefit of the viewer not being required to move.