Battle of Four Horsemen - after the painting, The Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo

Donated by Vojtěch Lanna in 1884. Though the engraver Edelinck was originally from Antwerp, he was active in Paris from 1666 on and this work is seen as French graphic art. Edelinck received his initial training in Antwerp and then improved his style in Paris under the influence of the brilliant engravers François de Poilly and Robert Nanteuil. He excelled as a portrait graphic artist, but also reproduced works by famous painters from the royal collections. The sheet on display is a graphic translation of a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens (today in the Louvre), which captures the central scene from the mural The Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo in the Palazzo Vecchio town hall in Florence, Italy. The painting, which Leonardo did in the early 16th century, disappeared around 1560. Rubens drew the scene during his sojourn in Italy after an engraving by Lorenzo Zacchia.