Albrecht Durer
(German, 1471-1528)
The Witch
wood engraving on paper
wood engraving on paper, printed; laid down to stiff board
In The Witch riding backwards on a goat (1501?1502), Albrecht D?rer depicts a barely clothed woman, a witch, sitting astride a leaping goat. Contrary to the goat?s forward motion, the woman?s hair streams unnaturally in the opposite direction. The incongruous situation indicates the presence of the supernatural and ?the devil?, which the goat was understood to visually represent.1 Four putti (cherubs) surround the female figure, brandishing symbols of witchcraft, such as an alchemist?s pot and a thorn apple plant.2 D?rer?s influence on the portrayal of witches and witch iconography was dramatic: the visual of the witch riding backwards, the malevolent crone, is continually re-imagined and treated as a firm precedent for the enduring image of the female witch today.3
In this and other works by D?rer, the witch is powerfully reinforced as the catalyst of misfortune. This female figure, particularly when seen with broomstick in hand, is said to conjure storms and other grave occurrences, which D?rer alludes to in the upper-left of the picture plane. As one author suggests, she is ?naked, unabashed, licentious ? a stylized negation of idealized womanhood
5 x 3 in. (12 3/4 x 7 3/4 cm.)

Matted and framed. 11 x 9 in. (28 x 23 cm.) Adhered to stiff board; unable to inspect verso sheet; minor toning and marks; good overall.