Artwork
The Amorous Nun between the Abbot and the Monk
The Amorous Nun between the Abbot and the Monk is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Hans Collaert the Elder. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The Amorous Nun between the Abbot and the Monk is a copperplate engraving executed on laid paper around 1560 by the Flemish printmaker Hans Collaert the Elder. The work presents a compact interior scene populated by three robed figures—a monk, a nun, and another monk—set against a dimly lit backdrop that includes arches, shelves of jars, and a curled dog on the floor.
Subject & Meaning
The composition suggests a narrative rather than a literal episode, portraying a nun caught between two male clerics. The juxtaposition of the three figures, together with a miniature landscape scene above them, hints at moral or satirical commentary on ecclesiastical misconduct, a theme common in mid‑sixteenth‑century Northern prints.
Technique & Style
Collaert employs delicate hatching and cross‑hatching to model the folds of the garments and the texture of the foodstuffs on the table. The use of chiaroscuro through fine line work creates a sense of depth within the cramped interior, while the miniature vignette above the main scene demonstrates the artist’s skill in integrating multiple narrative layers on a single plate.
History & Provenance
The engraving was produced in the workshop of the Collaert family, a prominent Brussels printmaking house that supplied images to the European market. Surviving copies are found in several major museum collections, indicating the work’s wide circulation during the late Renaissance and its continued relevance to scholars of Northern print culture.
Artist & collection
