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Triumphal Procession of the Noble, Glorious Women

Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500–1550)
1549

Medium/Technique Engraving
Dimensions Sheet: 2.6 x 13.8 cm (1 x 5 7/16 in.)
Platemark: 2.1 x 13.5 cm (13/16 x 5 5/16 in.)
Mount: 11.1 x 23.9 cm (4 3/8 x 9 7/16 in.)
Credit Line Museum purchase with funds donated by Robert and Barbara Wheaton
Accession Number2007.729
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsPrints
Beham's art could be just as witty as it was exquisite, and the mood could be ribald or high minded. His triumphal procession of noble and glorious women seems to tend toward the latter. Beham certainly knew much larger triumphal processions such those designed by Albrecht Dürer and Andrea Mantegna. Through his contacts with intellectuals who had traveled to Rome, such as his patron Albrecht of Brandenburg, he may also have had fairly good knowledge of ancient Roman sculptural reliefs. In any case, this miniature engraving is a light-hearted twist on a theme usually presented in more imposing form.
Here, sprightly horses pull a carriage bearing a semi-nude couple crowned with laurel wreaths. They are accompanied by fully-clothed woman carrying symbols of glory: torches, palm fronds, and trophies. A woman blowing a trumpet leads the way. To the rear are male warriors on horse and on foot. The wagon itself has an elaborate classicizing design that seems part chariot and part boat.
Though the subject is clearly identified by an inscription, it is unclear if Beham intended a direct literary reference. The print may draw on the idea of the nine worthy women of the Old and New Testaments and the pagan era. It seems to place femininity in a more positive light than Lucas van Leyden did in his earlier series on the power of women.

Catalogue Raisonné Bartsch 143; Pauli 244 i/III
Marks Verso, lower left, stamped in purple ink -- mark of Heinrich Stiebel (Lugt 1367)
Verso, lower left in graphite pencil -- c9679
Verso, center in graphite pencil -- c19121
Verso, lower left in graphite pencil -- A Slg [?]
InscriptionsVerso, lower left in graphite pencil:c9679
Verso, center in graphite pencil: c19121
Verso, lower left in graphite pencil: A Slg [?]
Provenance1920, Heinrich Stiebel (b. 1851 - d. 1928), Frankfurt (Lugt 1367); November 10-16, 1920, Stiebel ("Old Frankfurt collection") sale, Prestel, Frankfurt, lot 1089. P. and D. Colnaghi, London (stock nos. c9679 and c19121). 2007, sold by Hill-Stone, Inc., New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 19, 2007)