The Bewitched Groom (1544–45): Art, History and Details

The Bewitched Groom (1544–45) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hans Baldung (German, 1484/85–1545).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Although the scene is enigmatic, presumably the witch has worked her magic through the physical power of the horse, who rendered the groom unconscious and now glowers at him. Representations of witchcraft were common during the early 16th century, a period of emerging moral reform and religious fervor. Baldung seemed to be obsessed with the evil power of female sexuality: representations of women with sinister or malicious connotations and their association with vulnerability and death are features of his work. Since Baldung's coat of arms appears on the wall behind the groom, who also bears some facial resemblance to portraits of the artist, some autobiographical reference may have been intended. Bewitched Groom presents a pessimistic view of man—or perhaps Baldung himself—who cannot resist the superior and evil forces of nature. The inevitability of physical passion, and its connection with the frailty of human nature, is a recurring theme in the artist's work.

Object facts

• Title: The Bewitched Groom
• Date: 1544–45
• Creator attribution: Hans Baldung (German, 1484/85–1545)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: woodcut
• Collection: PR - Woodcut
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1966.172

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Artnews 65, no. 5 (September 1966): 30-64.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.