Pyramus and Thisbe
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 5/8 × 2 15/16 in. (11.7 × 7.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
Accession Number
41.1.130
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate engraving *Pyramus and This* (1553), German artist Heinrich Aldegre captures the tragic romance from Ovid's *Metamorph*. The lovers, separated by a wall yet united in passion, are depicted in tender nudity, evoking the ancient myth where miscommunication leads to their heartbreaking suicides. Aldegrever, a master of the "Little Masters"—Northern Renaissance engravers famed for intricate small-scale works—renders the couple's embrace with delicate lines, highlighting their vulnerability and desire. Created on a modest sheet (4 5/8 × 2 15/16 in.), this engraving exemplifies the ...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...