Fascinating stuff, Nicole. I have only ever seen that four witches engraving in passing, and assumed it was Dürer doing a kind of grotesque/satire of the three graces or classical muses in general.
But your article really helps to show the context of both works in a whole new way.
Thanks as ever for your diligent research and fantastic writing. I'll look forward to reading more from you about witches in art.
The contrast between the pure evil depicted in the first engraving (albeit softened by the preposterous putti who seem to be saying "you don't scare me one bit") and the relative delicacy of the group of four is so marked that it suggests a change of heart by the artist about his subject.
The backwards D is fascinating. I never noticed that before. At the same time, The Witch herself doesn't seem either humorous or satyrical. What I notice about her is her masculine musculature compared to the bodies of the four witches. This gives her a sense of transgressive power. What do you make of that?
That's a good point! There is definitely that liminality present in the way she is depicted. I think his humor in that one comes in more with the putti around her
Fascinating stuff, Nicole. I have only ever seen that four witches engraving in passing, and assumed it was Dürer doing a kind of grotesque/satire of the three graces or classical muses in general.
But your article really helps to show the context of both works in a whole new way.
Thanks as ever for your diligent research and fantastic writing. I'll look forward to reading more from you about witches in art.
Thank you so much, George! I loved your Dürer piece this week as well. Great minds think alike! 😊
So interesting
Thank you!
Really enjoyed this, Nicole.
The contrast between the pure evil depicted in the first engraving (albeit softened by the preposterous putti who seem to be saying "you don't scare me one bit") and the relative delicacy of the group of four is so marked that it suggests a change of heart by the artist about his subject.
Very interesting point! Thank you as always for reading!
The backwards D is fascinating. I never noticed that before. At the same time, The Witch herself doesn't seem either humorous or satyrical. What I notice about her is her masculine musculature compared to the bodies of the four witches. This gives her a sense of transgressive power. What do you make of that?
That's a good point! There is definitely that liminality present in the way she is depicted. I think his humor in that one comes in more with the putti around her
🤔🇩🇪✍🏼 George, Amelia and Nicole go all Dürer this week. Must be something about the 🍻beer or 🌭 Brats? 🤷🏻🙋🏼♀️💁🏻♀️