Artwork

Poros Assailed by the Macedonian Army (recto); Sketches of Animals (verso)

Poros Assailed by the Macedonian Army (recto); Sketches of Animals (verso) is a drawing by the Renaissance artist Perino del Vaga. It dates from 1546 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

The sheet is a pen-and-ink drawing with wash, executed by Perino del Vaga as a preparatory study for a fresco program that would illustrate Alexander the Great’s campaigns. The work was intended for the papal apartments of Pope Paul III in Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo, serving as a compositional trial before the final wall painting was realized.

Subject & Meaning

The recto presents a tumultuous battlefield scene: soldiers clash, swords are raised, and a central figure, sword lifted overhead, prepares a decisive strike. The composition is populated with trumpeting elephants and a heap of combatants, translating a dramatic, almost biblical, confrontation into a historical military narrative.

Technique & Style

Rendered in swift pen strokes complemented by subtle washes, the drawing demonstrates Perino’s study of chiaroscuro to model form through light and shadow. The dynamic pose of the leading combatant echoes Michelangelo’s treatment of David and Goliath, suggesting direct visual borrowing from the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

Artist & collection

Artist

Perino del Vaga

Piero Bonaccorsi (1501 – October 19, 1547), known as Perino (or Perin) del Vaga, was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism.