The Ravisher

About this work

You see a woman in a long dress fighting off a bony, wild-eyed man who looks like a corpse. He grips her arm while she twists away, her face twisted in fear. This is Death grabbing someone who thought he was her lover. Artists in Dürer’s time often showed Death this way to warn people about sin and how short life is. The empty scroll above them might have had a message, but Dürer left it blank—the picture says enough. Look up other works from germany, late 15th century to see more scenes like this.