Die Nacht
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
78; 110
About this artwork
Slapende naakte vrouw op een bed als personificatie van de Nacht (Nux). Op het hoofdeinde van het bed staat het Latijnse opschrift Nox et Amor, vinvmqve, nihil mo derabile svadent uit Ovidius Amores.
Art Historical Context
Hans Sebald Beham’s *Die Nacht* (The Night), created in 1548 presents a graceful personification of night as a sleeping nude woman reclining on a bed. The small engraving, measuring just 110 by 78 millimeters, captures the quiet intimacy of rest while inviting viewers to reflect on the themes suggested by the Latin inscription on the bed’s headboard: “N et Amor vinumque nihil moderabile suadent,” drawn from Ovid’s *Amores*. The line reminds us that night, love, and wine together persuade nothing moderate, linking the figure to classical ideas of desire and the senses. Beham, one of the so-cal...
About the Artist
Hans Sebald Beham · 1500–1550
Sebald Beham (1500-1550), often called Hans Sebald Beham, was a German painter and printmaker born in Nuremberg. He stands as the most important figure among the Kleinmeister (Little Masters), a group of German artists who created remarkably detailed prints on a diminutive scale in the generation following Albrecht Dürer. Beham's significance lies in his technical virtuosity and unprecedented pro...