Diogenes
before 1527
Medium
Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
46 × 34.1 cm (18 1/8 × 13 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13502
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Renowned as one of the best prints of the sixteenth century, this masterpiece by the great woodcut artist not only reveals his absorption of Roman High Renaissance art but also paves the way for the dynamism of the Baroque. Diogenes, a fourth century B.C. Greek philosopher, chose the hardship of dwelling in a wooden tub, seen in the background. The plucked rooster reflects his ridicule of his contemporary, Plato, who defined man as a featherless biped.
About the Artist
Ugo da Carpi · 1480–1535
Comment on works: Painter; Woodcutter