Cavalry Engagement
1624–63
Medium
Pen and brown ink; framing lines in pen and brown ink on mount
Dimensions
3-9/16 x 5-1/16 in. (9.0 x 12.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880
Accession Number
80.3.27
Tags
Art Historical Context
Francesco Allegrini's *Cavalry Engagement* (1624–63) is a lively 17th-century Italian drawing that thrusts viewers into the chaos of battle. Depicting soldiers and rearing horses in mid-clash, this compact work—measuring just 3-9/16 x 5-1/16 inches—evokes the turbulent military skirmishes common in Baroque-era Europe, where cavalry charges symbolized raw power and heroism. Allegrini, a draughtsman from Gubbio associated with the Carracci circle, specialized in such dynamic combat scenes, blending Umbrian tradition with Roman vitality. Crafted in pen and brown ink with framing lines on its mou...
About the Artist
Francesco Allegrini · 1615–1679
Francesco Allegrini (c. 1615/20–after 1679), born likely in Rome to the painter Flaminio Allegrini from Cantiano near Gubbio, emerged from a family of artists that included his sister, Anna Angelica Allegrini. He trained under Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d’Arpino, around 1638–40, before entering the studio of Pietro da Cortona, whose dynamic Baroque style profoundly shaped his own. Elec...