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Borrowing from the judgment of Solomon in the Old Testament, a legend in the Gesta Romanorum tells of the death of a king and his sons’ dispute over who would succeed him. A judge orders the sons to shoot the king’s corpse. The one who penetrates it most deeply will become the ruler. The first three shoot but the fourth refuses, thus proving himself to be the only worthy heir.

Details

  • Title: Shooting the Dead Father
  • Creator: Hans Baldung Grien
  • Date Created: 1517
  • Physical Dimensions: Dm: 38.8 cm
  • Technique and Material: Pen and brown ink, grayish-brown wash
  • Provenance: Von Nagler Collection
  • Museum: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
  • Inv.-No.: KdZ 571
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-018511
  • External Link: http://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/kupferstichkabinett/home.html
  • Copyright: Photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett/ Jörg P. Anders; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 86 / Michael Roth
  • Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
  • Artist Dates: c. 1485 Schwäbisch Gmünd (?)–1545 Strasbourg
  • Artist Biography: Baldung, born into a family of intellectuals, entered Dürer’s workshop in 1503. There he worked on altarpieces and designs for stained glass and woodcuts. In 1509 he settled in Strasbourg, but he continued to accept commissions for the City of Freiburg and for Emperor Maximilian I (prayer book of 1515). Baldung, whose oeuvre includes both portraits and fantastic scenes (with witches), was considered by his contemporaries Dürer’s true artistic successor.

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