Woman with a Harp

Description

Who is this female harpist, sitting solemnly in a wooded landscape? Is she a muse? A goddess? Just an ordinary woman? The viewer is left to speculate, as there are not enough clues to know for certain. Hans Sebald Beham, one of the so-called German Little Masters, produced prints such as this one that create a sense of intimacy through their small scale and the proximity of their subjects to the picture plane. This etching is even smaller than many of his prints, obliging viewers to come close to observe the details.

Woman with a Harp

Hans Sebald Beham

1520/25

Accession Number

24913

Medium

Etching in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image/plate: 4 × 3.3 cm (1 5/8 × 1 5/16 in.); Sheet: 4.8 × 4.2 cm (1 15/16 × 1 11/16 in.)

Classification

etching

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Edna Wilhelmine Rose Fund