Foolish Virgin
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This woodcut shows a woman standing on a dragon’s tail. She holds a bell in one hand and a book in the other, while the dragon coils around her legs. The background has a simple sky with a moon and a few wavy lines for clouds. The woman’s calm face contrasts with the wild beast beneath her. The artist used sharp lines to show both her flowing robes and the dragon’s scales. This is a woodcut, a printing method where artists carve images into wood blocks.
