The Taking of Alexandria

An etched battle scene in which soldiers storm a city as fire rises from towers and buildings. In the foreground a large crocodile lies among fallen bodies and debris, while armored figures fight through the smoke and ruins.

Look closer: A small standing figure watches from a doorway near the columns in the background.

Artist

Girard Audran

Date

1672–78

Medium

Etching

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2558 × 3487 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953