Hans Baldung Grien, the most famous apprentice and close friend of German artist Albrecht Dürer, was known for his unique and highly eroticised images of witches. In paintings and woodcut prints, he gave powerful visual expression to late medieval tropes and stereotypes, such as the poison maiden, venomous virgin, the Fall of Man, 'death and the maiden' and other motifs and eschatological themes, which mingled abject and erotic qualities in the female body. Yvonne Owens reads these images against the humanist intellectual milieu of Renaissance Germany, showing how classical and medieval medicine and natural philosophy interpreted female anatomy as toxic, defective and dangerously beguiling. She reveals how Hans Baldung exploited this radical polarity to create moralising and titillating portrayals of how monstrous female sexuality victimised men and brought them low. Furthermore, these images issued from-and contributed to-the contemporary understanding of witchcraft as a heresy that stemmed from natural 'feminine defect,' a concept derived from Aristotle. Offering new and provocative interpretations of Hans Baldung's iconic witchcraft imagery, this book is essential reading for historians of art, culture and gender relations in the late medieval and early modern periods.

List of Illustrations -- Foreword by Joseph Leo Koerner -- Introduction: Baldung's Polluted Witches, Poison Maids, Basilisks and Crones -- 1. The Abject Erotic Feminine in Baldung -- 2. The World of Baldung's 1510 Witches' Sabbath -- 3. Baldung's 'Jewish' Witches -- 4. Baldung and the Witch Doctors -- 5. Blood, Visions, Witch Women and Saints -- 6. Baldung and the Morality of Vision -- 7. Classical Reception, Toxic Femininity and Hippomanes -- 8. Humanist Humour in Baldung -- 9. Erudite Obscenities and Pious Pornography -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Endnotes -- Index.

From the Publisher: Art Now Volume I brings together the recent work and biographical information for our selection of the 150 most influential artists working at the end of the 20th century. Art Now also includes a sort of service guide, produced in collaboration with The Art Newspaper, which lists museums, restaurants, and hotels we recommend you check out while you're cruising the global art scene, and even gives the scoop on how much one can expect to pay for a Damien Hirst or a Sharon Lockhart and whom to contact if you decide to buy. We also let you know useful details like how many prints Wolfgang Tillmans made for a certain edition and what sorts of sums big players like Koons, Sherman, and Struth bring in at auction. Think of it as an indispensable reference book, travel guide, and art market directory all rolled into one.

Volume titles: Literature and Art; Sociology; Anthropology; History.

Abstracts of dissertations available on microfilm or as xerographic reproductions.