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The Four Witches
''The Four Witches'' (German: ''Die Vier Hexen''), or ''The Four Naked Women'',Hutchison, p. 241 or ''The Four Sorceresses''Brion, p. 129 or ''Scene in a Brothel'', are titles given to a 1497 engraving by the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. One of his earliest signed engravings,Stumpel, p. 143 it shows four nude, exuberant women gathered conspiratorially in a circle in a confined interior setting, perhaps a bath house,Stumpel, p. 157 which appears to have entrances from either side. Although clearly erotic, a small horned demon, perhaps representing temptation,Stumpel, p. 156 is positioned in the left hand portal, peering out and holding what may be a hunting object, and is engulfed in flames. Although the engraving has been subject to prolonged and significant scholarly analysis, it remains enigmatic, and there is nothing in his later writings to indicate his intent. There is no consensus as to its subject matter or its intended meaning, with art historians associati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Gallery Of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress. Andrew W. Mellon donated a substantial art collection and funds for construction. The core collection includes major works of art donated by Paul Mellon, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Samuel Henry Kress, Rush Harrison Kress, Peter Arrell Browne Widener, Joseph E. Widener, and Chester Dale. The Gallery's collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, medals, and decorative arts traces the development of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas and the largest mobile created by Alexander Calder. The Galler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moirai
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (, also spelled Moirae or Mœræ; grc, Μοῖραι, "lots, destinies, apportioners"), often known in English as the Fates ( la, Fata, Fata, -orum (n)=), were the personifications of fate; their Roman equivalent was the Parcae (euphemistically the "sparing ones"), and there are other equivalents in cultures that descend from the Proto-Indo-European culture. Their number became fixed at three: Clotho ("spinner"), Lachesis ("allotter") and Atropos ("the unturnable", a metaphor for death). However, according to the often cited Latin verse ''Clotho colum retinet, Lachesis net, et Atropos occat'', their roles and functions were also seen differently: Clotho, the youngest of the sisters, presided over the moment in which we are born, and held a distaff in her hand; Lachesis spun out all the events and actions of our life; and Atropos, the eldest of the three, cut the thread of human life with a pair of scissors. The role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's ''Iliad''. The core of the ''Iliad'' (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the ''Odyssey'' describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th or 12th century BC, but by the mid-19th century AD, bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus (mythology)
Venus (), , is a Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles. The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality. She is usually depicted nude in paintings. Etymology The Latin theonym ''Venus'' and the common noun ''venus'' ('love, charm') stem from a Proto-Italic form reconstructed as ''*wenos-'' ('desire'), itself from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) ' ('desire'; cf. Messapic ''Venas'', Old Indic ''vána ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Minerva is one of the three Roman deities in the Capitoline Triad, along with Jupiter and Juno. She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the "owl of Minerva", which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge as well as, less frequently, the snake and the olive tree. Minerva is commonly depicted as tall with an athletic and muscular build, as well as wearing armour and carrying a spear. As the most important Roman goddess, she is highly revered, honored, and respected. Marcus Ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juno (mythology)
Juno ( ; Latin ) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology. A daughter of Saturn, she was the sister and wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona and Juventas. Like Hera, her sacred animal was the peacock.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni, and she was said to also watch over the women of Rome. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called ("Queen") and was a member of the Capitoline Triad (''Juno Capitolina''), centered on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and also including Jupiter, and Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She was often shown armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, who bore a goatskin, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eris (mythology)
Eris (; grc-gre, Ἔρις ', "Strife") is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her Roman equivalent is Discordia, which means the same. Eris's Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Roman counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona. The dwarf planet Eris is named after the goddess. She had no temples in ancient Greece and functions essentially as a personification, as which she appears in Homer and many later works. Etymology ''Eris'' is of uncertain etymology; connections with the verb , 'to raise, stir, excite', and the proper name have been suggested. R. S. P. Beekes rejects these derivations and suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Characteristics in Greek mythology In Hesiod's ''Works and Days'' 11–24, two different goddesses named Eris are distinguished: So, after all, there was not one kind of Strife alone, but all over the earth there are two. As for the one, a man would praise her when he came to un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quattrocento
The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encompasses the artistic styles of the late Middle Ages (most notably International Gothic), the early Renaissance (beginning around 1425), and the start of the High Renaissance, generally asserted to begin between 1495 and 1500. Historical context After the decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476, economic disorder and disruption of trade spread across Europe. This was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages, which lasted roughly until the 11th century, when trade increased, population began to expand and the people regained their authority. In the late Middle Ages, the political structure of the European continent slowly coalesced from small, turbulent fiefdoms into larger, more stable nation states ruled by monarchies. In Italy, urba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Baldung Grien
Hans Baldung (1484 or 1485 – September 1545), called Hans Baldung Grien, (being an early nickname, because of his predilection for the colour green), was a painter, printer, engraver, draftsman, and stained glass artist, who was considered the most gifted student of Albrecht Dürer and whose art belongs to both German Renaissance and Mannerism. Throughout his lifetime, he developed a distinctive style, full of colour, expression and imagination. His talents were varied, and he produced a great and extensive variety of work including portraits, woodcuts, drawings, tapestries, altarpieces, and stained glass, often relying on allegories and mythological motifs. Life Early life, c. 1484–1500 Hans was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd (formerly Gmünd in Germany), a small free city of the Empire, part of the East Württemberg region in former Swabia, Germany, in the year 1484 or 1485. Baldung was the son of Johann Baldung, a university-educated jurist, who held the office of legal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albrecht Dürer, Witch Riding On A Goat, C
Albrecht ("noble", "bright") is a given name or surname of German origin and may refer to: First name *Albrecht Agthe, (1790–1873), German music teacher *Albrecht Altdorfer, (c. 1480–1538) German Renaissance painter *Albrecht Becker, (1906–2002), German production designer, photographer, and actor *Albrecht Berblinger, (1770–1829), German constructor (the tailor of ulm) * Albrecht Brandi, (1914–1966), German U-boat commander in World War II *Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, (1865–1939), German field marshal in World War I *Albrecht von Wallenstein, (1583–1634), Bohemian soldier and politician during the Thirty Years' War * Albrecht Dieterich, (1866–1908) German classical philologist and religious scholar * Albrecht Dietz, (1926–2012), German entrepreneur and scientist * Albrecht Dürer, (1471–1528), German artist and mathematician * Albrecht Dürer the Elder, German goldsmith and father of Albrecht Dürer * Albrecht Elof Ihre, (1797–1877), Swedish diplomat and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob Sprenger
Jacob Sprenger (also James, 1436/1438 – 6 December 1495) was a Dominican inquisitor and theologian principally known for his association with a well-known guide for witch-hunters from 1486, ''Malleus Maleficarum''. He was born in Rheinfelden, Further Austria, taught at the University of Cologne, and died in 1495 in Strasbourg. The Dominican Order Novice Sprenger was admitted as a novice in the Dominican house of Rheinfelden in 1452 and became a zealous reformer. He founded an association of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary in Strasbourg in 1474. Theologian He became a Master of Theology and then in 1480 Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Cologne and was a popular lecturer. References External linksby Montague Summers, including some biographical facts and sources about Sprenger * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sprenger, Jacob 1430s births 1495 deaths 15th-century German Roman Catholic priests German Dominicans Inquisitors Supporters of witch hunting 15th-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Kramer
Heinrich Kramer ( 1430 – 1505, aged 74-75), also known under the Latinized name Henricus Institor, was a German churchman and inquisitor. With his widely distributed book ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (1487), which describes witchcraft and endorses detailed processes for the extermination of witches, he was instrumental in establishing the period of witch trials in the early modern period. Life Born in Schlettstadt, now Sélestat, Alsace, he joined the Dominican Order at an early age and while still a young man was appointed Prior of the Dominican house of his native town.Rothman, David J., Marcus, Steven a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
