Shield with a Greyhound, Held by a Wild Man
1469/82
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Diameter 78 mm (image) 80 mm (sheet trimmed within platemark)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
90004
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In medieval Europe, the threat of a wild man hungry for tender flesh was often used by parents to keep misbehaving children in line. By the end of the 15th century, with the rise of crowded urban centers, the legend of wild men and women living in the deepest forests gained a new attraction, as these fantastical beings were said to possess unusual strength and practice a sexuality free from societal norms. The influential and prolific engraver Martin Schongauer was occasionally commissioned by a...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...