Ghismonda, Guiscardo, and the Prince of Salerno, from The Decameron
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 2 7/8 in. (7 × 7.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.2815
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate woodcut, titled *Ghismonda, Guisc, and the Prince of*, illustrates a dramatic tale from Giovanni Boccaccio's * Decameron* (c. 1353), a celebrated collection of 100 stories framed by the Black Death. Here, from Day IV, Story 1, we see the tragic lovers Ghismonda and Guisc—her lowborn paramour—confronted by her father, the stern Prince of Salerno. The intimate scene captures the emotional tension of forbidden passion, discovery, and impending doom, reflecting Renaissance fascination with human desire and fate. Created before 1534 by German artist Hans Schäufelein, a follower of Al...
About the Artist
Hans Schäufelein|Giovanni Boccaccio|Heinrich Steiner · 1480–1540
Hans Schäufelein (c. 1480–c. 1540) was a German painter and graphic artist of the Northern Renaissance whose career placed him at the heart of one of the most dynamic artistic environments in European history. As a young man, he entered the workshop of Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg, an experience that proved decisive: Dürer's meticulous approach to draughtsmanship, his mastery of printmaking, and hi...