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Overview
Sebald Beham (popularly called Hans Sebald Beham) (1500-1550) was a prolific early Renaissance German printmaker. Born in Nuremberg and therefore a fellow citizen of Albrecht Dürer, he spent the second half of his career in Frankfurt. He was one of the most important of the so-called 'Little Masters' (Henrich Aldegrever was another), the group of German printmakers initially inspired by Dürer, who continued to flourish into the mid-16th century. The intimate scale of their works, rather than these impressive artists being overshadowed by the brilliant Dürer, explains their name.
Beham produced approximately 252 engravings, 18 etchings and 1500 woodcuts, including woodcut book illustrations. He worked extensively on tiny, highly detailed, engravings, many as small as postage stamps, which he printed and published himself, while his much larger woodcuts were mostly commissioned work. The engravings found a ready market among German collectors. He also made prints for use as playing cards and wallpaper. His engravings cover a range of subjects, but he is especially known for scenes of peasant life and scenes from classical myths or history, both often with an erotic element.
Satyr woman playing bagpipe is one of three satyr prints by Beham in Te Papa's collection. Satyrs are normally mythical creatures, half man, half goat, ready for any physical pleasure, especially if it relates to wine, women and song. The figure in this engraving, however, is a relatively rare 'satyress', the female equivalent to satyrs, depicted with a human head and torso, generally including bare breasts, but the body of a goat from waist down. They were a late invention by poets and artists and are comparatively rare in classical art. Yet the satyress figure was certainly not unknown to Renaissance artists - we meet her in the work of Michelangelo, Farinati and, here, Beham. Her male counterpart, also in the collection, is Beham's Satyr playing lyre (1869-0001-27).
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebald_Beham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyress
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art January 2017