Allegorical Female Figure with Mirror, Snake, Stag and Hind,

1529

Material / Technology / Carrier

Lindenholz (Tilia sp.)

Dimensions of the object

83 x 36 cm

Displayed

AP EG Saal XII

Department

Early German Painting

Genre

Painting

Inventory number

5376

Acquisition

Aus der Kurfürstlichen Galerie München

Stock

Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München

Citation

Hans Baldung gen. Grien, Allegorische Frauengestalt mit Spiegel, Schlange, Hirsch und Hindin, 1529, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/Qr4DgD0GpE (Last updated on 02.06.2025)

The meaning of the ‘Woman with Music Book, Gamba and Cat’ and the ‘Woman with Mirror, Serpent, Stag and Dog’ remains unsolved to this day. It is presumed that they are personifications from the complex humanist world of thought. Attempts to classify them have included Musica and Prudentia, the Temperaments, planetary deities, the Virtues, the Liberal Arts, or else they have been placed in a Christian context. The two paintings were probably part of a series.