Aristotle and Phyllis

About this artwork

According to legend, Alexander the Great’s tutor, Aristotle, counseled him to resist the seductions of Phyllis, the king’s mistress, and focus on his royal duties. But Aristotle ignored his own advice, and with her promise of sexual favors, let Phyllis mount him like a horse. Forewarned by Phyllis, Alexander was able to secretly observe his tutor’s humiliation. Brandishing a riding crop, here Phyllis amply demonstrates the power of feminine wiles over masculine intellect. Indeed, the philosopher...

Art Historical Context

This engraving, created around 1500 by the German printmaker known as Master MZ, captures the legendary encounter between the philosopher Aristotle and Phyllis. Active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, Master MZ signed his works with the monogram “MZ” and produced finely detailed prints that reflect the growing sophistication of Northern European engraving during the Renaissance. The sheet, measuring just over seven by five inches, demonstrates the artist’s command of the medium on cream laid paper. The subject draws from a popular medieval tale in which Phyllis, seeking to prove the power of love, persuades Aristotle to let her ride him like a horse—an image that amused and instructed viewers by showing even the greatest mind could be humbled by human desire. Such moralizing scenes were widely circulated through prints, allowing the story to reach audiences beyond elite circles. As an engraving, the work highlights the technique’s ability to render delicate lines and textures, making complex narratives portable and reproducible. Now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, it offers today’s visitors a vivid glimpse into how Renaissance artists used new print technologies to explore timeless human themes.

About the Artist

Master MZ · 1477–1525

The artist known as Master MZ is one of the most accomplished and enigmatic printmakers of the German Renaissance, active around the turn of the sixteenth century. The designation derives from the monogram MZ with which the artist signed a small but technically extraordinary group of engravings, and despite sustained scholarly inquiry, the individual behind these initials has never been conclusive...