1 - Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) Hercules at the Crossroads, or The Effects of Jealousy. Circa 1498–1499. Engraving. 220 x 318 [233 x 330 mm]. Bartsch 73; Hollstein 63; Meder 63b. A very fine and brilliant print on thin laid paper, with a watermark (small pitcher, Meder 158, dated circa 1498–1500) visible through the paper at the foot near the monogram, before the scratch across the right calf. The edges of the copper plate are heavily inked. A trace of a horizontal drying crease runs down the center. Tiny surface imperfections are visible at the edges when held up to the light. The press mark is very faintly softened at the foot. A slight diagonal crease is visible in the lower left corner on the reverse. Small margins (5 mm). Formerly in the collection of A. J. Hachette (Lugt 132). AABM stamp (Lugt 3075). This engraving achieves a remarkable cultural synthesis, fusing Germanic naturalism with the anatomical ideal of the Italian Renaissance (Hercules seen from behind is a homage to The Fight of the Naked Men, engraved by Antonio Pollaiuolo some thirty years earlier). The symbolism of the subject remains partly mysterious. Erwin Panofsky demonstrated that the scene depicts Hercules at a moral crossroads, where the choice is deliberately left open. It is unclear whether he is raising his club to ally himself with Virtue and exterminate Vice, or whether he is intervening to protect the carnal couple (Volupté and the satyr) from violent punishment. This indecision symbolizes the inner struggle of the human soul in the face of temptation. Added to this is a domestic dimension related to jealousy, which, through its violence, destroys the couple’s harmony. The natural setting reinforces this duality. On one side lies a dense, dark forest (linked to the satyr’s wild impulses), while on the other stands a structured landscape, leading toward a fortress or a city on a hill—a symbol of civilization, self-control, and fulfillment through Virtue.