Unfalo Causing Theuerdanck to Fall into a Trap during a Hunt, from Theuerdanck
1517
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 1/2 × 9 7/8 in. (36.8 × 25.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.70.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of Renaissance patronage, Hans Schäufelein 1517 woodcutUnfalo Causinguerdanck to Fall a Trap during a Hunt comes from *Der Theuerdanck an epic poem commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I This allegorical tale chronicles the emperor’s heroic courtship of Mary of Burgundy through perilous adventures, with Theuerdanck as Maximilian’s chivalric alter ego. Here, the companion Unfalo unwittingly leads the protagonist into a hunter’s snare amid a forested chase, blending humor, peril, and moral lessons on loyalty and fate—hallmarks of early 16th-century German courtly ...
About the Artist
Hans Schäufelein · 1480–1540
Hans Schäufelein (c. 1480–c. 1540) was a German painter and graphic artist of the Northern Renaissance whose career placed him at the heart of one of the most dynamic artistic environments in European history. As a young man, he entered the workshop of Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg, an experience that proved decisive: Dürer's meticulous approach to draughtsmanship, his mastery of printmaking, and hi...