The Embrace

1503

Master MZ

Artist, German, active c. 1500

Master MZ

Attributed to

The image depicts the full bodies of two individuals standing together inside a room. They are embracing one another, with one person facing the viewer and the other turning slightly away. The figure facing the viewer has distinct facial features with a prominent nose and long curly hair visible beneath a large hat. The other person’s face is partially hidden, with long hair also covered by a feathered hat. Both are wearing long garments with wide sleeves and a flowing design. One person is wearing gloves while the other has their hands concealed under the fabric. A sword or long object is seen beside one individual, hanging down towards the floor. Inside the room, there is paneling along the walls and a ceiling with wooden beams. A window with a view of a distant landscape and structures is visible. The room contains a table or chest with carvings and designs. On the floor is a piece of fabric, and a framed item or document lies against the wall. A painting or framed picture hangs on the wall beside the door. A suspended piece is seen close to the ceiling.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 15.8 × 11.7 cm (6 1/4 × 4 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.182

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 8, p.365, no. 16, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(von Passavant-Gontard sale, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 15 May 1929, no. 1053); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Five Centuries of Print Making, The Print Club of Philadelphia, 1931, no. 25.

1945

  • Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 1945, no. 12.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 149, repro.

1973

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Prints of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art Rosenwald Collection, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1973, no. 31.

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 126, repro.

2000

  • Drawings and Prints from the Permanent Collection (Summer 2000), National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000.

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.

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. 149.

Wikidata ID

Q64960433

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