The Dissimilar Couple

c. 1495/1503

Israhel van Meckenem

Associated Names
Israhel van Meckenem

Artist, German, c. 1445 - 1503

The image shows a man and a woman standing side by side. The man is positioned with his body slightly turned towards the woman, and his head is tilted in her direction. He has distinct facial features, with a serious expression. He wears a cap with a row of buttons, a long tunic belted at the waist, tights, pointed shoes, and holds a sword. The woman stands with her arms crossed, facing the man. Her facial features are soft, and she wears a tall, elaborate headdress with a lattice pattern, a long dress, and voluminous sleeves. The background has a dark, textured backdrop with a swirling ribbon pattern around the figures, and decorative plants with prominent leaves. The artwork is monochromatic with detailed line work.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.158

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 9, p.392, no. 502, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(von Passavant-Gontard sale, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 13 May 1929, no. 706); (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. 236, repro.

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. 236.

1994

  • Landau, David and Peter Parshall. The Renaissance Print, 1470-1550 New Haven and London, 1994: fig. 37.

2008

  • Nash, Susie. Northern Renaissance Art. Oxford History of Art series. Oxford, 2008: 139, 140, fig. 95.

Wikidata ID

Q64958432

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