Two Satyrs Fighting for a Nymph

Based on an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi, Altdorfer’s altered version reflects his unmistakable style. In addition to reversing and cropping the original composition, the artist has used expressive lines, engrossing the figures in a dramatic forested backdrop. While at one time the inclusion of a satyr (half-man, half-goat) connoted lascivious behaviour, the theme here is not a moralizing one. The reduction in size, along with the detached expression of the nymph in the foreground, likely reflects the artist’s attitude toward the mythological as a wholly fictional realm. The print is intended to amuse its audience rather than occasion wonder or pathos.