titled and inscribed ‘ORLANDO/ Orlando che gran tempo […]/ a la campagna’ (in the plate)
engraving, coat of arms with a saint
20.1 x 14 cm
Unrecorded [1]
A very good and strong impression, with the supporting lines in the text still visible, the paper is in generally good condition, trimmed just outside the plate mark on three edges, trimmed to or just inside the platemark along the left edge, otherwise in good condition

This engraving is part of a series of at least 12 prints by an anonymous Italian artist depicting characters, all wearing fanciful helmets, from Ludovico Ariosto's (1474-1533) epic poem 'Orlando Furioso' about knights and ladies, war and love, and the romantic ideal of chivalry. The present engraving shows the protagonist, Orlando Furioso, accompanied by a verse from the poem at upper right. While the series of engravings is not dated, they must have been produced not too long after Orlando Furioso was first published (1516) judging the style of the prints. The poem also proved an important source for graphic artists in later centuries; Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) made large series of at least 176 drawings depicting episodes from the poem and Gustave Doré (1832-1883) took the poem as inspiration for a series of wood engravings.

[1] See for another impression in the Rijksmuseum; inv. RP-P-H-H-1422.