Albrecht Dürer: The Sea monster (1496 - 1500)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

An engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). This beautiful print shows a lady on the back of a sea monster which is a hybrid of a man and a fish and has deer antlers on his head and the shield of turtle on his arm. On the shore of the river is a desperate man and some ladies. This print probably refers to Amymone, a person from Greek mythology. Amymone was one of the fifty daughters (the Danaïdes) of Danaus, king of Libya. According to a story, the city of Argos was in trouble as all the region's springs had dried up. Argos send his daughters to look for water. Amymone was surprised by a chthonic satyr who wanted to rape her. The god Poseidon managed to rescue Amymone and showed her the springs of Lerna so she could save Argos.. Engraving from 1496-1500.