Kan met een draak c. 1506 - 1538

Albrecht Altdorfer made this print of a ewer, or jug, in the first half of the 16th century. In it, we see a vessel adorned with classical motifs, grotesques, and of course, a dragon. This work reflects the tastes of the Northern Renaissance. This was a time when artists and their patrons turned to ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration, but often mixed classical elements with more fanciful, gothic styles. Altdorfer was working in Germany at a time when the Holy Roman Empire was fracturing due to religious and political upheaval. The Peace of Augsburg, which enshrined the right of princes to choose the religion of their realms, was still decades away. The image thus speaks to the power of design in an age of transition. Through careful art historical research, including study of contemporary documents, we can better understand the context out of which objects such as this emerged. Art offers a window into the past, but that window is shaped by social and institutional forces.