Minneapolis Institute of Art
Die Hexe - Witch Riding on a Goat
Albrecht DürerLinkedCulture matchlcp-840f7214ff34
- Date
- c. 1500
- Medium
- Engraving
- Department
- European Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 120314
From LinkedCulture
Around 1500, Albrecht Dürer deliberately signed his famous monogram backwards on this engraving, a signal that witchcraft has flipped the world upside down. A naked witch with wild streaming hair rides backwards on a flying goat, while below her, struggling putti can barely keep hold of the unstable sphere of fortune. Dürer's precise hatching and fine line control make every chaotic detail razor sharp. This small print reveals a side of the master printmaker rarely seen, one genuinely drawn to folklore, disorder, and delicious unease.
Written by LinkedCulture for its video on this object. Machine-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6), not yet reviewed by a person. It is not part of the museum’s record.
What the image shows
A mythological figure with wings and a lion's head holds a staff, surrounded by cherubs and a lion.
Generated by LinkedCulture from the photograph alone, without the museum’s catalogue text (Qwen/Qwen2.5-VL-7B-Instruct), and not yet reviewed by a person. It describes the picture, not the object’s history, and it is not part of the museum’s record.
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
Albrecht Dürer eventually brought a scientific and mathematical mindset to his art, but early in his career, dark and mysterious forces often stoked his imagination. In this engraving, a witch rides backwards on a flying goat, while putti cavort below. One of these capricious baby angels struggles to retain control of the unstable sphere of fate, which can roll in unpredictable directions. Another precariously supports a potted topiary plant, perhaps a symbol of man’s attempts to tame nature. Dürer signed his monogram backwards, confirmation that witchcraft has pushed the world off-kilter. Germany, Europe
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of Marla J. Kinney in honor of Tyler John Kelley and Hanlon Elizabeth Kelley
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