The Sea Monster
Original title: The Sea Monster (Das Meerwunder)
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer made this engraving around 1498, titling it Das Meerwunder. It features a mermaid reclining on a rock beside a bearded man; behind them, a castle and several bathers can be seen.
Description
In the foreground, a mermaid rests on a rock, holding a cloth. A bearded man stands next to her, possibly a sea creature or a god. Behind the figures, a castle rises on a hill, surrounded by trees and buildings. On the left, people bathe in a river or linger on the bank. The sky is cloudy; the view is rendered realistically with detailed lines and shading.
Context
Dürer produced this print during his second trip to Italy or soon after returning to Nuremberg. It belongs to a group of works on mythological and allegorical themes made in the 1490s. Exactly what the scene means remains unclear; it may refer to classical literature or to folk legends. At the time, Dürer was strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance, which is evident in his treatment of the human body.
Impact
A calm, almost idyllic mood emanates from the print, created by its symmetrical layout and delicate shading. The encounter between a mythological being and an everyday landscape feels both familiar and enigmatic. Dürer’s precise linework gives the image an almost sculptural quality.
Technique
The engraving's scene sits within the rectangular plate mark, with the mermaid and the bearded figure placed centrally and the castle rising in the background. Fine parallel hatching models light and shadow, so the sheet reads only in tones of grey and white. This vertical composition fills the paper evenly, from the bathers at the left to the clouded sky above.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)