Strength
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 2 15/16 × 2 3/16 in. (7.5 × 5.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.1380
Tags
Art Historical Context
Heinrich Aldegrever's *Strength* (1528) is a exquisite example of Northern Renaissance engraving, crafted by one of the renowned "Little Masters." This German artist and goldsmith, active in Soest, Westphalia, specialized in intricate small-scale prints that rivaled the finesse of larger works by masters like Albrecht Dürer. Measuring just under 3 by 2 inches, this trimmed sheet exemplifies the precision of copperplate engraving, where fine lines and cross-hatching create depth, texture, and luminous highlights on a nude female figure in profile—likely personifying the virtue of Fortitudo. Th...
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...