Albrecht Dürer
Four Naked Women (Four Witches)
1496
Physical Qualities
Engraving, Sheet (trimmed within platemark): 191 x 132 mm. (7 1/2 x 5 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Garrett Collection
Object Number
1946.112.5781
Dürer did not provide clarity on the subject of this image and its title has changed over the centuries. It is unclear whether this presentation of a group of nude women is meant to depict an illicit magical interaction or act as a commentary on female beauty or the concepts of temptation or mortality. Its subsequent reception as a portrayal of witches speaks more to historical (male) reactions to representations of women gathering than as an illustration of witchcraft.
T. Harrison Garrett, Baltimore, purchased 1885 (Lugt supp. 2435b); Duke of Buccleuch (Lugt 402).
Susan Dackerman, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'The Pious & the Profane in Renaissance Prints', September 23, 1998-January 3, 1999, p. 10, fig. 15.
BMA, Print Rotation, July 2003.
Andaleeb Banta, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Women Behaving Badly: 400 Years of Power and Protest," July 18 - December 19, 2021.
BMA, Print Rotation, July 2003.
Andaleeb Banta, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Women Behaving Badly: 400 Years of Power and Protest," July 18 - December 19, 2021.
Goddard, Stephen. The World in Miniature: Engravings by the Little German Masters 1500-1550. The University of Kansas Spencer Art Museum, 1988, p. 183.
Signed: 1
Inscribed: Recto: in image, lower center, in plate monogram "AD". Verso: lower right in graphite "B75"
Markings: CM: Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Bucceleuch (Lugt 402), Garrett WM: high crown (Meder wm. 20)
