The Knight (from the Tarocchi, series E: Conditions of Man, #6)

1467

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Allegory Ferrara

Dominant colour

The Knight (from the Tarocchi, series E: Conditions of Man, #6) is a 1467 by Master of the E-Series Tarocchi, a Renaissance work, depicting Ferrara, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Master of the E-Series Tarocchi
When & what style?: 1467 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

The painting shows a man dressed in elegant clothes, holding a dagger. He's turned to the left, looking straight ahead. This man is part of a series showing different social classes. The series has ten characters, from a beggar to a pope. It shows the social order of the time. The details in the clothes and the dagger give us clues about the man's status. This painting is similar to works by artists from the same time period, check out the museum where it's kept, The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The story of this work

Overview

This engraving is part of the Tarocchi group marked with the letter “E,” and named Conditions of Man . This series outlines the social and hierarchical order of ten characters (Beggar, Servant, Artisan, Merchant, Gentleman, Knight, Doge King, Emperor, and Pope), starting from the lower grade and ending with the most important one. Here, Chavalier (The Knight) is shown as a full-length male figure, turned to the left. The elegantly dressed man is holding a dagger in his hands. Behind him on the left, a servant is carrying a sword.

Read the full account in the museum source.