The Brazen Bull of Phalarus

Pierre Woeiriot

Associated Names
Pierre II Woeiriot de Bouzey

Artist, French, 1532 - 1599

This is a print showing a group of people gathered around a statue of a bull. The central focus is on the bull, which stands on a platform above a fire with smoke billowing around it. A door appears to open on the side of the bull's body, and two men on the left of the print are holding the legs of another person who has their head and torso inside the compartment of the bull. One person is kneeling on the right of the bull, appearing to feed the fire underneath it. Another person stands behind them, holding a large object that looks like a log. In the top left corner of the print, a man is seated on a throne-like structure elevated above the others, flanked by attendants or guards, observing the event. More onlookers stand on the ground behind the bull. The scene is set against a backdrop featuring classical columns and archways which show the edge of a building in the distance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 22.2 × 17.2 cm (8 3/4 × 6 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1973.54.15

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Robert-Dumesnil, no. 205, State i/ii


Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1967

  • Robert-Dumesnil, A.P.F. Le peintre-graveur francais, ou catalogue raisonne des estampes gravees par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'ecole francaise, ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de M. Bartsch. Reprint (11 vols. in 6). Paris: F. deNobe

Wikidata ID

Q65576220

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