ADRIAEN DE VRIES (C. 1556-1626)
Antiope and Theseus
?c. 1600RCIN 57961
With lofty poise the Queen of the Amazons seems to admonish the striding Athenian hero, but the gesture is ambiguous (she formerly held an object, perhaps a quiver). The exaggerated proportions and high polish of the figures contribute a vertical thrust, yet the rough, unfinished tendril seems to anchor the group to the ground. The naturalistic base is perhaps a tribute to Albrecht Dürer, whose famous monogram is imitated here, for Adrianus Fries.