Israhel van Meckenem, Ornament with Dance of the Lovers
Severance Fund, 1952.532 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Israhel van Meckenem

Ornament with Dance of the Lovers

c. 1490

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
engraving
Dimensions
12.1 × 26.8 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-200408

In this image, the competitive nature of love and sexual desire plays out on treacherously thorned vines that block the young suitors from their ultimate prize, the elegant lady in the center. Given the presence of two musicians, the male suitors may be performing a type of folk dance, known as a Morris dance, which was popular in courtly circles at the time, and which relates, as well, to courtly love poetry performed by troubadours (lyrical poets of the Middle Ages).

Provenance

Severance Fund, 1952.532

Registry history

  • c. 1490 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art — prints

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