Artwork
Horatius Cocles Leaping into the River Tiber
Horatius Cocles Leaping into the River Tiber is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Albrecht Altdorfer. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Albrecht Altdorfer, a German artist of the early 16th century, produced the copperplate engraving titled Horatius Cocles Leaping into the River Tiber around 1525. Executed on laid paper, the print measures a modest size typical of the period’s small‑scale prints and belongs to Altdorfer’s body of work that merges narrative with landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The image captures the legendary Roman hero Horatius Cocles in the act of plunging into the Tiber River, shield raised to protect his head. Two fellow soldiers stand behind him, swords drawn, while a chaotic crowd and makeshift tents line the riverbank, suggesting a desperate defense of the bridge against an invading force.
Technique & Style
Altdorfer employs fine, incisive lines and dense cross‑hatching to model the armor and turbulent water, creating a sense of immediacy. The contrast between the sharply rendered armor and the smoother, almost childlike facial features highlights the artist’s focus on gesture over individual portraiture, a hallmark of the Nuremberg Little Masters.
History & Provenance
Created during Altdorfer’s mature period in Regensburg, the engraving reflects his involvement with the Danube School’s interest in integrating narrative scenes within expressive natural settings. It circulated among collectors of intricate prints, aligning Altdorfer with other Northern Renaissance engravers who specialized in detailed, small‑format works.
Context
The print illustrates Altdorfer’s contribution to the development of landscape as an independent genre, even when serving a historical narrative. By placing the heroic act against a detailed, atmospheric riverbank, he merges the dramatic with the natural, a synthesis characteristic of early German Renaissance art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main…
