Orazio Scarabelli (active circa 1589)
Jousting tournament in Piazza Sante Croce, May 10th, 1589
From the 'Festivals for the Marriage of Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany and Christina of Lorraine'
Engraving and etching, 1589, but circa 1592, published by Filippo Suchielli, Siena, on laid paper without watermark, an even impression with faint wiping marks, platemark 240 x 335 mm. (9 1/2 x 13 1/4 in), sheet 270 x 365 mm. (10 5/8 x 14 3/8 in), unframed.

Provenance:
Fürstlich Waldburg Wolfegg'sches Kupferstichkabinett, Maximilian Willibald Waldburg-Wolfegg (1604-1667) [L. 2542];
Probably the "duplicates" auction, Gutekunst, Stuttgart, 1901-1903;
Private collection, Austria;
Anonymous sale; private collection, London.

Literature:
Saslow, James, Florentine Festival as Theatrum Mundi. The Medici Wedding of 1589, 1996, p. 246, no. 70 (illus.).

⁂ The joust tournament depicted, a tilt at the quintain, took place in a temporary arena in front of the church Santa Croce as part of the Festivals for the Marriage of Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany and Christina of Lorraine. The facade of the church is visible in the background behind a tiered stand lining the square. The stands are filled with spectators, while the grand-ducal party watches from a canopied balcony in the building on the right. An opening procession of mounted knights, trumpeters and pages circles the field, before passing behind a barrier at right, where one of the combatants rides a camel. For an example of another plate from the same Festival series, see the Gourary Collection auction (Christie's, Splendid Ceremonies, 12th June 2009, lot 105).