Albrecht DürerGerman, 1471–1528Die Hexe - Witch Riding on a Goat
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Albrecht Dürer eventually brought a scientific and mathematical mindset to his art, but early in his career, dark and mysterious forces often stoked his imagination. In this engraving, a witch rides backwards on a flying goat, while putti cavort below. One of these capricious baby angels struggles to retain control of the unstable sphere of fate, which can roll in unpredictable directions. Another precariously supports a potted topiary plant, perhaps a symbol of man’s attempts to tame nature. Dürer signed his monogram backwards, confirmation that witchcraft has pushed the world off-kilter.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 2014.117.2
What it shows
In the catalog
Comings and goings
Not on view at present
Minneapolis Institute of Art · Sep 29, 2026 — now · Verified
Was not on view
National Gallery of Art · Sep 29, 2026 — Sep 29, 2026 · Verified
Was not on view
Minneapolis Institute of Art · Sep 28, 2026 — Sep 29, 2026 · Verified
Was not on view
National Gallery of Art · Sep 27, 2026 — Sep 28, 2026 · Verified
Was not on view
Rijksmuseum · Sep 26, 2026 — Sep 27, 2026 · Verified
Was not on view
National Gallery of Art · Sep 26, 2026 — Sep 26, 2026 · Verified
Was not on view
Rijksmuseum · Sep 25, 2026 — Sep 26, 2026 · Verified
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
Meanwhile, in the life of Albrecht Dürer
The whole life1500
Jacopo de' Barbari and the secret of proportion
The Venetian Jacopo de' Barbari, whom Dürer had met in Venice, came to Nuremberg, and Dürer said he learned much from him about perspective, anatomy and proportion. Feeling that de' Barbari would not explain everything he knew, Dürer began studies of his own that became a lifelong preoccupation.
1501–1502
In the circle of Nuremberg's humanists
Through his lifelong friend Willibald Pirckheimer, Dürer entered the circle of Nuremberg's humanists. He engraved illustrations for Conrad Celtis's editions of Hrotsvitha (1501) and of his Four Books of Love (1502), and decorated 14 books in Pirckheimer's library with drawings.
1502
Death of his father
Albrecht Dürer the Elder died, and his son took on the care of his mother and his two younger brothers, Endres and Hans.
![Madonna and Child [obverse], Albrecht Dürer, c. 1496/1499](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/878db7e6-10ae-4cae-ba5d-6d6f5c413ae8/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Lot and His Daughters [reverse], Albrecht Dürer, c. 1496/1499](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/7565a449-f82a-414b-9bda-c93f55a51b4d/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
