Art Institute of Chicago

The Naked Woman and the Dragon

Allaert Claesz

Date

1553

Medium

Engraving in black on cream laid paper

Culture

Holland

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This enigmatic subject has never fully been explained. Unlike the princess in the Saint George roundel by Martin Schongauer (1956.887) on view in gallery 202a, this regal woman wards off the dragon with her scepter. In the vignette above, a stunned female entourage watches as she flies away on the beast’s back. The work’s large scale and perspectival background scene suggest it was intended as a design for a stained-glass window.

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