Intemperance, from Vice and Virtues 1528

This is 'Intemperance, from Vice and Virtues,' a print made by Heinrich Aldegrever around 1528. This small, intricate work presents a compelling visual study in contrasts and moral allegory. The composition is dominated by a central female figure, her gaze averted downwards, almost ashamed, while she is draped with a snake and a goat, symbolizing uncontrolled desires. The artist masterfully uses the medium of engraving to create contrasting textures, from the soft rendering of skin to the coarse hair of the goat. The background features a stark division between a domestic interior and the suggestion of a distant fortified structure, possibly representing the external world and lost values. The linear structure of the engraving – the hatching and cross-hatching – not only defines form but also seems to construct an elaborate symbolic framework. Aldegrever has used this to engage with contemporary debates about morality and human behavior. The composition’s formal rigor invites us to consider how societal structures influence individual actions and choices. This piece functions as a meditation on the cultural codes that define vice and virtue.