The Sea Monster (Das Meerwunder)
ca. 1498
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 9 3/4 x 7 7/16 in. (24.8 x 18.9 cm) trimmed on plate line
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1919
Accession Number
19.73.80
Tags
About this artwork
Albrecht Dürer's enigmatic engraving "The Sea Monster" exemplifies the Northern Renaissance master's early exploration of human anatomy and mythological subject matter. Created around 1498, this technically masterful print depicts a dramatic scene of abduction: a nude woman with an elaborate Milanese headdress rides unwillingly on the back of a bearded, antlered sea creature whose lower body transitions into fish-like scales. The woman's mouth opens in a cry as she looks back toward the shorelin...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...