The Three Fates: Lachesis, Atropos and Clotho

1513

Hans Baldung Grien

Associated Names
Hans Baldung Grien

Artist, German, 1484/1485 - 1545

This is a drawing of three figures in a fantastical woodland setting. The figures are gathered around a tall stick-like structure topped with an object. Two figures appear to be nude with long flowing hair, while the third figure has distinctive headwear. The elder figure reaches towards the object on top of the structure, while another figure crouches nearby. A small child-like figure is depicted at the bottom of the scene. The background includes foliage and a gnarled tree. The drawing is intricate with detailed line work creating textures and depth.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet and block: 22 × 15.5 cm (8 11/16 × 6 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.904

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 236

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Henry Huth [1815-1878]; by descent to his son, Alfred Henry Huth [1850-1910]; (his sale, by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, London, 6 July 1911, no. 235); (C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 5 November 1929, no. 36); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1929; 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. 53 (as "The Gods of Destiny").

1958

  • The Fantastic, the Occult, and the Bizarre in Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, NGA, 1958, no catalogue.

1965

  • Drolleries and Demons: Six Centuries of 'Fantastic' Prints, IBM Gallery, New York, NY, 1965, no. 12 (as "The Gods of Destiny").

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 109, repro.

2019

  • Hans Baldung Grien, Large State Exhibition of Baden-Wurttemberg, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 2019 - 2020, no. 182.

  • Hans Baldung Grien, Large State Exhibition of Baden-Wurttemberg, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

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 Hertzberger

1990

  • Russell 1990, cat.no.109.

Inscriptions

in image, in block, on plaque hanging from tree branch at upper left: · HGB [artist's monogram] · 1513; on verso, in graphite at lower right: 36

Markings

none

Watermarks

Gothic P

Wikidata ID

Q64957172

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