Procession of Monstrous Figures

Art Historical Context

Created in 1615 by Wendel Dietterlin the Younger, *Procession of Monstrous Figures* is an etching that forms the first plate in a frieze of eight prints. Measuring just under four inches high, the elongated sheet captures a lively parade of fantastical creatures marching across its surface. The medium of etching allowed Dietterlin to render fine, expressive lines that bring the monsters’ scaly textures, twisted limbs, and exaggerated features to vivid life. Such imagery reflects the early seventeenth-century fascination with the grotesque and the marvelous. Artists often used monstrous proces...