The Foolish Old Man and the Young Girl

c. 1480/1490

Israhel van Meckenem after Master of the Housebook

Associated Names
Israhel van Meckenem

Artist, German, c. 1445 - 1503

Master of the Housebook

Artist After, German, active c. 1470 - 1500

The image depicts two figures positioned close to each other. The figure on the left has curly hair, prominent cheekbones, and a furrowed brow, wearing a flowing garment with a high collar. The person on the right has a serene expression, softly arched eyebrows, and a gentle demeanor, with intricate knotted hair adorned with a leafy or floral crown and wearing a fitted dress. The figure on the left holds a plate with something round on it, while the figure on the right rests their hands under it. The background features an engraved design with scrolls and illegible script or ornamentation.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.154

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 9, p.381, no. 489, State v/v

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 208, repro.

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 120, repro.

1997

  • Love and War: A Manual for Life in the Late Middle Ages, The Frick Collection, New York, 1999.

1999

  • The Medieval Housebook: The Real and the Ideal, A Fifteenth-Century View of Life, The Frick Collection, New York, 1999.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1967

  • Shestack, Alan. Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1967: no. 208.

1990

  • Russell 1990, no. 120.

Wikidata ID

Q64958507

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