About this artwork
Schongauer may have produced his ten heraldic shields in roundels as family crests for the middle classes rather than the nobility. The partially blank areas of the shields and the fanciful figures holding them suggest that the works were not exclusively made for families of high standing but could have been purchased individually and filled in with other family emblems to be used more widely. The depiction of this forest-dwelling wild man, wreathed in vines and clothed only in his own hair, alludes to a simpler time before the advent of civilization, when men were free to indulge all their appetites.
-
Status
- Currently Off View
-
Department
- Prints and Drawings
-
Artist
- Martin Schongauer
-
Title
- Two Shields with a Hare and a Moor's Head, Held by a Wild Man
-
Place
- Germany (Artist's nationality:)
-
Date
- 1480–1490
-
Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
-
Dimensions
- Sheet: 7.8 × 7.8 cm (3 1/8 × 3 1/8 in.)
-
Credit Line
- Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
-
Reference Number
- 1956.917
-
IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4011/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
