From the Mouths of Babes: Putti as Moralizers in Four Prints by Master H.L.

Abstract

The German Renaissance wood sculptor and engraver known as Master H.L. left behind only a small body of printed works from his career in the early sixteenth century. Among these prints four are tied together by their depiction of <italic>putti<italic>, and display his ability to work with previously established visual motifs while manipulating them idiosyncratically for his own purposes. Of these four, the first two decry the foolishness of misdirected affections, while the second pair share a surprising connection to the celebration of Carnival. With their unusual approach and multilayered symbolism, these prints serve as brilliant windows on to the era's religious views, humor, and artistic style.