1523
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
The Revenge of the Sorcerer Virgil is a 1523 ink by Albrecht Altdorfer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a man sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, holding a spear. His face is turned slightly away, and he looks calm. In front of him, another figure kneels on the ground, reaching up with a tool that looks like a saw or knife. The background is dark and full of lines, making the scene feel tense. The artist used lots of fine lines to create shadows and texture, which is called *cross-hatching*. This technique makes the image look almost three-dimensional. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists use lines to build depth.
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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