(b. 1471, Nürnberg, d. 1528, Nürnberg)

Death of Orpheus 1494 Pen drawing, 289 x 225 mm Kunsthalle, Hamburg

This drawing is probably derived from a painting by Andrea Mantegna, whose printed graphics Dürer copied. Mantegna in his turn was using Greco-Roman models. This landscape, the details of the drapery folds and the handling of the line in general are worked out in a quite independent fashion. The centre of the picture is the male nude in motion. According to the Metamorphoses by the classical author Ovid (43 B.C.-17/18 A.D.), Orpheus introduced homosexual love to Thrace and for that reason is beaten to death by two Thracian women during a bacchanal. The group of figures is placed before a central tree in which an open book with music is hanging. The classical singer's lyre is lying at his feet.

In the tree a banderole with legends: "Orfeus der erst puseran" (Orpheus, the first pederast). The woman at the left and the boy were used by Dürer a few years later in the engraving known as "Jealousy" (more correctly "Chastity and Unchastity"). <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):<BR><A HREF="#" onClick="w=window.open ('/music1/18_cent/gluck_orfeo.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350');w.opener=this;w.focus();return true"><B>Cristoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo, Act I, Orpheus' aria in G Major</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE>

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Author: DÜRER, Albrecht Title: Death of Orpheus Time-line: 1501-1550 School: German Form: graphics