The Sea Monster / Albrecht Dürer
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1956/1.74
- Title
- The Sea Monster
- Artist
- Albrecht Dürer
- Artist Nationality
- German
- Artist Life Dates
- 1471-1528
- Medium and Support
- engraving on paper
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1498
- Object Creation Place
- Europe
- German
- Creation Place 1
- Europe
- Creation Place 2
- German
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Inscription
- Signed on plate, with monogram:
- Dimensions
- 25.1 cm x 18.8 cm (9 7/8 in. x 7 3/8 in.)
- Century
- Late 15th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- intaglio print
- Secondary Object Type
- engraving
- Physical Description
- Two figures are seen riding through the water in the foreground; the woman is nude save for an elaborate headdress, the man holds a tortoise shell as a shield and has an antler-like object on his head and has a serpent-like body which supports the woman. Behind is a minutely described landsape with walled town, castle, and along the opposite bank o the water, nude females swimming and a man running in alarm to the water's edge.
- Subject Matter
- Although no specific myth is cited here, there is a long tradition of nymphs and women kidnapped by a sea monster. Ovid is a possible source, as is the Germany myth of a Langobard queen reportedly kidnapped in the Adriatic.
- Primary Keywords
- castles
- engravings
- intaglio printing
- monsters
- rocks
- sailboats
- seascapes
- shells
- turtles
- Secondary Keywords
- transfer method
- animals and creatures
- buildings and the land
- combination inorganic/organic animal material
- combination inorganic/organic material
- descriptors
- fortifications
- image-making processes and techniques
- inorganic material
- intaglio prints
- legendary creatures
- materials
- materials by composition
- objects we use
- printing
- printing and printing processes and techniques
- prints
- prints by process
- prints by process or technique
- processes and techniques
- processes and techniques by specific type
- reptiles
- sailing vessels
- sailing vessels by size
- shell and shell material
- single built works
- single built works by function
- single built works by specific type
- transportation vehicles
- vehicles
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- visual works by subject type
- watercraft
- watercraft by method of propulsion
- watercraft by specific type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 869 x 1159
- File Size
- 152 KB
- Record
- 1956/1.74
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1956-sl-1.74/1956_1.74.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1956-SL-1.74:1956_1.74.JPG
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"The Sea Monster; Albrecht Dürer." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1956-sl-1.74/1956_1.74.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
