Master E. S: Fantastic Alphabet, the letter N (1466 –1467)


(Staatliche museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany)

a print by an unidentified German artist with the notname "master E.S.". This engraving forms part of a so-called 'fantastic alphabet' which is composed of 23 letters. Each letter consists of interlocking humans, animals and birds etc. The letter N looks like a satire of gluttony and lust: the left part of the letter is composed of 3 monks who are wearing fool's bells while the right part is composed of 2 monks and a woman.. The fools have so shame and display their privates - the middle fool is emptying a urinal over the lower fool. The woman is hitting a monk with a stick who seems enjoining it. the upper monks is correcting his glasses to get a better view of the entire spectacle. engraving from 1466-1467.