Art, Sex, and Science: Talking about Horses in Hans Baldung's 1534 Woodcuts

Abstract

Hans Baldung's woodcuts depicting horses at liberty in a forest setting have long puzzled art historians. This article suggests that Baldung's prints may have been informed by a spirit of scientific inquiry that animated certain intellectual circles and that resulted in the publication of illustrated texts with which the artist was likely familiar. The study of plants and animals may have influenced not only the prints' subject matter and mode of depiction but also their function: to provoke conversation, in this case about horses, not only as demonstrations of artistic ingenuity and symbols of sexuality, as has been previously suggested, but also as subjects unto themselves.