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That Antonio Pollaiuolo regarded his engraved plate of the Battle of the Ten Nudes, usually dated to c. 1470–75, as one of his most important works, is indicated by the signature Opus Antonii Pollaioli Fiorenttini inscribed on a tablet ostentatiously displayed hanging from a tree at the left of the composition. This engraving was the largest produced in Florence in the 15th century. With this work, which was probably not commissioned, Pollaiuolo intended to demonstrate his skill in rendering muscular anatomy in a print, large numbers of which could be disseminated to other artists' studios. Pollaiuolo's work later became known both in Italy and abroad through the extensive circulation of engravings: just as German engravings stimulated the imaginations of late 15th-century Florentine artists, so such artists as Dürer knew and made use of Pollaiuolo's engraving.
Given the engraving's essentially demonstrative purpose, it is probably mistaken to attempt to identify an established iconography in the battle portrayed; rather, its subject may be a moral allegory invented for the purpose. It can also be seen as the equivalent in terms of human anatomy of late 15th-century Florentine engraved pattern sheets of animals and other natural forms. The carefully posed, artificially interrelated fighting figures are represented as if in battle, a convention adopted to provide them with energetic activities to display their animated musculature. The battle may suggest a relationship with Classical battle reliefs, but Pollaiuolo contrived the composition specifically to show his abilities in representing the human form in movement.
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