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The Embrace

Master MZ German
1503
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Embrace
  • Artist: Master MZ (German, Munich, ca. 1477–1525)
  • Date: 1503
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.1.173
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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The King's Sons Shooting Their Father's Corpse, Master MZ German, Engraving
The King's Sons Shooting Their Father's Corpse
Master MZ
ca. 1500
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe), Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver, German
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)
German
ca. 1450
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints, Gideon Saint British, Pen and ink, engraving and etching
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints
Gideon Saint
ca. 1760
Kneeling Female Figure, Master MZ German, Pen and black ink
Kneeling Female Figure
Master MZ
late 15th–early 16th century
Cornetto in A, Ivory, gilt ferrule, German
Cornetto in A
German
ca. 1575

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