1539
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Eight Nude Children at a Well is a 1539 by Heinrich Aldegrever, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This print shows eight bare kids playing around a well. Some are climbing, one is holding a bucket, and another is playing a drum. Their bodies are muscular but still look like children’s, and they’re all tangled up in the action. Notice how the artist used shading to make the figures pop off the dark background. The well and the kids’ poses look like they’re caught mid-movement. Check out chiaroscuro to see how this dramatic lighting works.
Heinrich Aldegrever or Aldegraf was a German painter and engraver. He was one of the "Little Masters", the group of German artists making small old master prints in the generation after Albrecht Dürer.
See the richer artist page
