Serpent Speaking to a Young Man

About this work

This engraving shows three barefoot figures in a garden. The woman in the center stands with one hand on her hip, wearing a draped robe. To her left, a man holds a staff and looks at her. On the right, a young man sits on the ground, resting his head on his hand while a snake curls around his leg. The background has a distant castle and winding path, but the focus is on the figures’ quiet interaction. The artist used fine lines to show texture, like the folds in the woman’s cloth or the snake’s scales. Next, look up engraving to see how artists like this carved images into metal.