The Triumph of Fame, plate three from the Triumphs of Petrarch

Description

Petrarch’s beloved poem about Fame lends itself well to being illustrated as a parade, and so Pencz could easily have adopted this imagery of ancient triumphal processions from recent works in print and paint by the late-15th-century artist Andrea Mantegna. Indeed, Pencz visited Mantua during his trip to Italy and may have seen some of Mantegna’s work there. Pencz’s curiously squat and diminutive elephants, stubby human figures, and oversize sculptural remnants all suggest a familiarity with Mantegna’s dramatic perspectives and cast of historical characters.

The Triumph of Fame, plate three from the Triumphs of Petrarch

Georg Pencz

c. 1539

Accession Number

77865

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Plate/sheet: 13.9 × 20.9 cm (5 1/2 × 8 1/4 in.)

Classification

engraving

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer