The Angry Wife

c. 1495/1503

Israhel van Meckenem

Associated Names
Israhel van Meckenem

Artist, German, c. 1445 - 1503

This is a print showing a woman holding a broom-like object and engaging in a struggle with a man. The woman is on the left, holding the object above her head in one hand and with the other holding the wrist of the man, who is partially kneeling on the left. They both have pale skin and light hair. Above them is a fantastical creature with the body of a snake, wings, human arms, and the face of a beast. A small dog stands near the bottom left corner of the print, looking up at them. Next to it on the ground is what looks like a discarded apron. The ground and dark background are both detailed with cross-hatching.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 16.7 x 11.1 cm (6 9/16 x 4 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.160

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 9, p.394, no. 504, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1937; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1953

  • Nuremberg and the German World, 1460-1530: Prints and books from the Kress and Rosenwald Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953, no catalogue.

1954

  • Early German Prints, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, 1954.

1955

  • Speed Museum, Louisville, KY, 1955.

1966

  • Masters of Etching and Engraving from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences, Peoria, IL, 1966, no. 9.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 238, repro.

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century German Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1967, no catalogue.

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 125, repro.

1996

  • Scenes of Daily Life: Genre Prints from the Housebook Master to Rembrandt van Rijn, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996, as The Angry Wife from the series Scenes of Daily Life.

1999

  • Religion and Politics: The Renaissance Print in Social Context, Marsh Art Gallery, Richmond, 1999, no. 52.

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. 238.

1994

  • Landau, David and Peter Parshall. The Renaissance Print, 1470-1550 New Haven and London, 1994: fig. 39.

1996

  • Hults, Linda C. The Print in the Western World. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996, 62, fig.1.44, 63.

1999

  • Johnson, Charles. Religion & Politics: The Renaissance Print in Social Context. Exh. cat. Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond, 1999: no. 52; repro. 78.

Watermarks

flower on a crossed stem (Lehrs 2)

Wikidata ID

Q64958436

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