Artwork Page for The Abduction on a Unicorn

Details / Information for The Abduction on a Unicorn

The Abduction on a Unicorn

1516

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Culture
Germany
Medium
etching
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1963.469
Catalogue raisonné
Meder 67a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The volatile mood of this etching starkly contrasts with the abduction scene in Dürer’s Sea Monster. Here, a woman struggles against her male captor as he carries her away on a menacing unicorn with a jagged horn and cloven hoofs. Although unicorns were generally associated with purity, medieval texts also identified the mythical creature as a symbol of evil or death. As with Dürer’s other puzzling scenes of women, scholars have attempted to identify these figures in relationship to classical mythology, in this instance Pluto and Proserpina. This characterization remains vague however; the ominous cloudy sky and savage nature of the event suggests far more sinister circumstances.
A vertically oriented print in black ink depicts a bearded man riding a single-horned beast rearing toward the right. He carries a nude woman reaching upward. Closely spaced lines create heavy shadows throughout. Swirling clouds and a rocky cliff fill the background. In the top right, a circular cloud contains the date 1516 and a monogram. A small building sits on the horizon at the far right.

The Abduction on a Unicorn

1516

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany

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