Two Satyrs Fighting Over a Nymph
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 1 11/16 in. (6.4 × 4.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Felix M. Warburg, 1920
Accession Number
20.64.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate engraving *Two Satyrs Fighting Over Nymph*, Albrecht Altdorfer captures whirlwind of mythological drama on a minuscule sheet measuring just 2 1/2 × 1 11/16 inches. Two lusty satyrs—half-man, half-goat creatures from ancient Greek lore—clash fiercely in a tangle of limbs and horns, vying for the affections of a graceful nymph, a ethereal nature spirit. Altdorfer's precise lines evoke the chaos of primal desire amid a hinted woodland backdrop, drawing viewers into this tiny yet vivid tableau. A pioneering artist of the German Renaissance and the Danube School (c. 1480–1538), Alt...
About the Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer · 1475–1538
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480–1538) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who stands as one of the founders of landscape painting as an independent genre. Born in Regensburg or nearby Altdorf, he learned art from his father Ulrich, a painter and miniaturist. Altdorfer spent most of his life in Regensburg, becoming a citizen in 1505 and later serving as the city's official architect and a m...