Title
The Power of Women: The Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket, c. 1512. Creator: Lucas van Leyden (Dutch, 1494-1533).
Caption
The Power of Women: The Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket, c. 1512. This woodcut is from a series depicting the power of women, a popular early 16th-century theme. The series highlights a woman?s capacity to use beauty, charm, and ruse to thwart even the cleverest men. Here, Van Leyden illustrated the cunning of the Roman emperor?s daughter. According to legend, the poet Virgil fell in love with the maiden, but she objected and punished him for his impudence. After promising to raise Virgil to her bedroom window in a basket, she left him hanging halfway. The printmaker omitted the emperor?s daughter from the scene but added the woman advising her son against such folly.
Credit line
Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art
Reference
HRM19G14_163
Model release
NA
Property release
NA
License type
Rights managed
Available size
58,5Mb (8,5Mb) / 12,6in x 18,0in / 3781 x 5410 (300dpi)