Storytelling in Miniature

Virgilius Solis the Elder
German, 1514–1562

A Falcon Hunt

Engraving, about 1541
1 5/8 x 7 in.
Gift of Geoffrey R. Bennett, 1962.67

Another Nuremberg artist active in the time of Albrecht Dürer, Virgilius Solis came from an artistic family. He is considered by many to be the leading 16th-century master of the engraved ornament. Much of his work, perhaps two-thirds, was made for the use of goldsmiths. Hunting scenes, such as the one shown here, were very popular during the Renaissance for the decoration of drinking vessels. Solis’s workshop, which employed as many as nine assistants, produced more than 1,000 engravings and etchings.