Minneapolis Institute of Art

Two Shields Supported by a Wild Man

Martin Schongauer

Date

15th century

Medium

Engraving

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This furry fellow crowned with a wreath of vines is a wild man, a creature from just beyond the fringes of civilization. He holds two shields like the symbols that families used to mark their property and their station in life in the late 1400s. Attempts have been made to connect the the hare and the bust of the African youth to specific families, but the results have been inconclusive. Heads of Black youths frequently appeared on European crests from the 1200s on, with associations to Christian crusades against Islam, slave trading, the Magi (the three kings or wise men who visited the baby Jesus), certain saints (especially Maurice), and general fascination with “exotic” foreigners. He could also be seen as an emblem of bravery contrasted with the skittish hare. Martin Schongauer made engravings such as this to offer inspiration to silversmiths, painters, and other craftsmen who needed ideas for their own designs. Germany

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