Artwork
The Stragglers
The Stragglers is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Jan Wellens de Cock. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1525, The Stragglers is a black‑and‑white woodcut executed on laid paper. Attributed to the Antwerp‑based artist Jan Wellens de Cock, the print belongs to the Northern Renaissance period and exemplifies the era’s interest in densely populated, narrative scenes rendered through printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The composition portrays a tumultuous skirmish in a wooded landscape. Foot soldiers and mounted riders are shown in various states of combat—some charging, others stumbling, a rearing horse at the centre—while the tangled trees and underbrush amplify the sense of disorder. The crowded arrangement suggests a moment of chaotic conflict rather than a formal battle tableau.
Technique & Style
De Cock employed the woodcut medium’s capacity for bold line work, using intersecting, overlapping strokes to convey rapid movement. The incised lines vary in thickness, creating a dense network that animates the figures and foliage alike. The use of laid paper, with its visible ribbing, adds texture that reinforces the print’s gritty atmosphere.
History & Provenance
The artist, a Flemish painter, draftsman, and woodblock specialist, was active in early sixteenth‑century Antwerp. While the exact ownership trail of The Stragglers is unclear, the work is documented among de Cock’s surviving prints and is cited in catalogues of Northern Renaissance graphic art, confirming its attribution and dating to the mid‑1520s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Wellens de Cock or Jan de Cock (c. 1460/1480 – in or before 1521) was a Flemish painter, woodblock artist and draftsman of the Northern Renaissance active in Antwerp. Recent discoveries and a re-evaluation of the…
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