Pyramus and Thisbe

c. 1515/1518

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

This is a drawing of a forest scene featuring two figures. The foreground of the image is filled with the figures—one clad in armor lying on the ground, and another seated with raised arms. The landscape consists of detailed trees with dense foliage. In the background, there is a structure resembling a castle on a hill. The drawing is characterized by fine linework and crosshatching, creating texture and depth in a style akin to a woodcut or engraving.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.1 × 4.1 cm (2 3/8 × 1 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.395

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. e. 51, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA, 1930; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1933

  • An Exhibition of Prints from the Collection of Lessing J. Rosenwald, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 1933, no. 55.

1945

  • Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 1945, no. 27.

1969

  • Prints and drawings of the Danube School; an exhibition of South German and Austrian graphic art of 1500 to 1560, Yale University Art Gallery, City Art Museum of St. Louis, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1969-1970, no.53, repro.

1975

  • Images of Love and Death in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, 1975-1976, no. 24, repro.

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 132, a (variant).

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. e. 51, state only.

Wikidata ID

Q64952530

You may be interested in

Loading Results