1518
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Pyramus and Thisbe is a 1518 ink by Albrecht Altdorfer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows two figures tangled in vines and branches, reaching toward each other. One holds a sword, the other a cloth or flower. The background is thick with trees, roots, and jagged lines—like a dark forest full of shadows. The whole scene looks twisted, almost like the figures are caught in a struggle. The artist used sharp, carved lines to create this effect, a style called woodcut. The story behind it is about two lovers who couldn’t be together, a common theme in Renaissance art. Next, look up woodcut to see how this technique works.
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main…
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