The Embrace
Master MZ German
Not on view
The wiry engraved lines and elongated figures in a skewed setting are characteristic of the idiosyncratic work of Master MZ, who may have been the Munich goldsmith Martin Zasinger (act. 1505-ca. 1555). In this enigmatic depiction a couple embraces in a well-appounted interior; she glances out of the image with an unenthusiastic expression. Are they having an illicit rendezvous? Is a nobleman embracing a courtesan? Was this scene meant to convey a moralizing message to the beholder? The objects in the room--the chandelier in the shape of a woman holding antlers, often a symbol of cuckoldry, and the mirror, frequently denoting vanity--give the viewer only tantalizingly unspecific clues. The artist has left the meaning open to the viewer's interpretation.
