Ornament with Two Sphinxes and a Winged Man

1528

Lucas van Leyden

Associated Names
Lucas van Leyden

Artist, Netherlandish, 1489/1494 - 1533

This is a drawing of a decorative grotesque design featuring fantastical creatures. The image shows a symmetrical arrangement with mythical beasts on either side, each having the upper body of a human and the lower body resembling that of a winged, leonine creature. In the center atop a decorative plinth, a seated winged figure holds a staff, framed by intricate tendrils and scrollwork. The style employs fine line work to create depth and texture, typical of detailed Renaissance engravings.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 7.8 x 11.8 cm (3 1/16 x 4 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.5680

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 162, State (a)

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1983

  • The Prints of Lucas van Leyden & His Contemporaries, NGA and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1983, no. 91, repro.

1994

  • Fanciful Flourishes: Ornament in European Graphic Art and Related Objects, 1300-1800, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994.

1998

  • A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998, no. 72.

2000

  • The Fantastic in Renaissance Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000.

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 Hertzberge

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-

1998

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. A Collector's Cabinet. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998: no. 72.

Wikidata ID

Q65023476

You may be interested in

Loading Results