HANS BALDUNG (1484/5-1545)
Portrait of a Young Man with a Rosary
1509RCIN 405758
Hans Baldung Grien was Dürer’s most inventive assistant, and the face in this very early portrait has a concise intensity typical of the artist. The confrontation of the owl and perhaps eagle or crow has been interpreted as the battle of good over evil and may relate to the rosary held by the sitter. Membership of rosary confraternities was popular across Europe at this date.