Artwork Page for Samson Rending the Lion

Details / Information for Samson Rending the Lion

Samson Rending the Lion

1450–67

Master ES

(German, active 1450–67)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
Grace Rainey Rogers Fund 1948.456
Catalogue raisonné
Lehrs II.48.4; Geisberg 4, repr. pl; 4, p. 147
State
only state
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The biblical hero Samson appears here as a fantastical medieval courtier, proving his courage and strength by slaying a lion with his bare hands. Viewers familiar with Samson’s story would have identified the courtly maiden as the woman of Timnah, a heathen who marries Samson, but betrays him during their wedding. The idea that even history’s greatest men succumbed to the power of women was a popular one in early prints.
A vertically oriented engraving in black ink depicts Samson straddling a lion and prying its jaws open. He has long, wavy hair and a feathered cap, while a woman in a patterned gown and headscarf stands to the right holding a flower. A slender tree rises behind them above a ground of large, lobed leaves. Fine black lines and intricate hatching create dense, textured patterns across the figures, lion's mane, and landscape.

Samson Rending the Lion

1450–67

Master ES

(German, active 1450–67)
Germany

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