Marcus Curtius
1532
16th century
15.3 cm x 10.6 cm (6 in. x 4 3/16 in.)
Heinrich Aldegrever
(Paderborn, Germany, 1502 - circa 1561, Soest (Westphalia), Germany)
Primary
Object Type:
print
Artist Nationality:
Europe, German
Medium and Support:
Engraving
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002
Accession Number:
2002.757
In a legend recounted by the ancient Roman historian Livy, Marcus Curtius at the instruction of an oracle leapt on horseback into a chasm that had opened in the forum in order to save the city. Exaggerating the antique flavor, Aldegrever has juxtaposed this emblem of sacrifice with a group of five female nudes and, evident in this extraordinary impression, imparted the plasticity of statuary to the whole scene.