The Naked Woman and the Dragon
1553
Allaert Claesz Netherlandish, c. 1500-1555
Holland
This enigmatic subject has never fully been explained. Unlike the princess in the Saint George roundel by Martin Schongauer (1956.887) on view in gallery 202a, this regal woman wards off the dragon with her scepter. In the vignette above, a stunned female entourage watches as she flies away on the beast’s back. The work’s large scale and perspectival background scene suggest it was intended as a design for a stained-glass window.
Engraving in black on cream laid paper