Albrecht Dürer
German, 1471-1528

The Sea Monster was executed shortly after the great German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer’s first trip to Italy and represents one of his greatest accomplishments in rendering richness of tone through engraving. The story may be based on a folktale, and shows a young woman being carried away by a bizarre hybrid sea creature while her family gestures frantically from the opposite shore. This print is one of 78 woodcuts and engravings by Dürer in the Toledo Museum of Art’s collection.

Engraving, 1498
William J. Hitchcock Fund in memory of Grace J. Hitchcock, 2000.22