The Suicide of Dido

c. 1520/1530

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

The image depicts a full-length figure of a person standing in a poised position. One foot is raised slightly off the ground as they appear balanced. The person's head is turned slightly to their right with a focused expression. They have a defined nose, lips, and eyes looking forward. Their long, wavy hair reaches past their shoulders and is adorned with a single circular accessory at the top. The person wears a flowing garment with a fitted bodice and a voluminous skirt that reaches down to their ankles. The garment has long sleeves, and the figure holds a dagger in one hand, pointed downwards. They wear a bracelet with circular beads on their right wrist. The person stands on a rectangular surface with swirling lines in the background, adding movement around the figure.

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): 6.5 × 3.8 cm (2 9/16 × 1 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.410

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. e. 48, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA, 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 8, repro.

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 159, b.

1990

  • Russell 1990, cat.no.8.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. e. 48, state only.

Wikidata ID

Q64952547

You may be interested in

Loading Results