About this artwork
Albrecht Dürer produced a number of early prints warning against the pleasures of the flesh, including the Ill-Assorted Couple. Perhaps the most insidious to modern eyes is this seductively velvety engraving. The ravisher’s young victim writhes on a fence much like the one often occupied by the Virgin Mary in other Dürer engravings. Whether she has fallen into the hands of a lusty wild man or Death himself, both her virtue and her life are clearly at stake. In a maelstrom of violent wind, his bony arms reach around her waist and pull tightly at her skirts.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Albrecht Dürer
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Title
- Young Woman Attacked by Death (The Ravisher)
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Origin
- Germany
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Date
- Made 1490–1500
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Medium
- Engraving in black on off-white laid paper
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Dimensions
- 113 × 102 mm (image/plate); 154 × 116 mm (sheet)
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Credit Line
- John H. Wrenn Memorial Collection
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Reference Number
- 1952.1109
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/78623/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
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