Susanna Accused of Adultery, from The Story of Susanna
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 9/16 × 3 1/4 in. (11.6 × 8.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947
Accession Number
47.100.176
Tags
Art Historical Context
Heinrich Aldegre's *Susanna Accused ofultery, from The of Susanna* (1555) captures a dramatic moment from the biblical Apocrypha in the Book of Daniel. this tale, the virtuous Susanna faces false accusations of adultery by two lecherous elders, highlighting themes of injustice, chastity, and divine intervention. Aldegrever, a German engraver from Soest and one of the Renaissance "Little Masters," specialized in intricate small-scale prints like this one, measuring just 4 9/16 × 3 1/4 inches. As an engraving, the work showcases Aldegrever's mastery of the burin technique, where fine lines inci...
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...