Group of Horses in a Wood
Artist: Hans (Grien) Baldung (1484/85 - 1545)
Date: 1534
Dimensions:
Overall: H. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm): W. 12 5/16 in. (31.3 cm)
Medium: Woodcut
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Frederick B. and Kate L. Shoemaker Fund
Object number: 1950.74
Label Text:By 1503 Hans Baldung had became an apprentice in Dürer’s workshop at Nuremberg. It was probably there that Baldung was given the name “Grien” (green), perhaps because he favored the color. Whereas Dürer’s works – stimulated by Italian art and humanistic writing – tend to be dignified and often concerned with theory, measurement, and formal perfection, Baldung’s art is impetuous, often intentionally informal, highly spirited, and at times mischievous.
Baldung became deeply involved in two subjects that influenced his art and life, to a greater or lesser degree, for years: witchcraft and the inevitability of death. Baldung used animals to express his feelings about the demonic forces of nature in a series of three compelling woodcuts showing rampaging horses. This print is the first in that series, with horses furiously kicking and biting each other, their manes and tails flying in frenzy, rendered with expressive lines.
Baldung became deeply involved in two subjects that influenced his art and life, to a greater or lesser degree, for years: witchcraft and the inevitability of death. Baldung used animals to express his feelings about the demonic forces of nature in a series of three compelling woodcuts showing rampaging horses. This print is the first in that series, with horses furiously kicking and biting each other, their manes and tails flying in frenzy, rendered with expressive lines.
Not on view
In Collection(s)