ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471 Nürnberg 1528) The Sea Monster. Engraving. 1498. M. 66 a. Hollst. 66. B. 71. Wm. High Crown (M. 20). 24,8:18,7 cm. This is one of Dürer's secular depictions, whose subject matter has remained unclear until today: A young, naked woman with remarkably beautiful ornaments in her hair is being abducted by a mythical creature ╨ half man, half fish - from a group of bathing women. Her parents and the women are left behind watching in panic and bewilderment. In his diary from the Netherlands (1520-1521), Dürer calls the print "das Meerwunder" (Rupprich, Nachlass, I, p.162). It is one of Dürer's earliest engravings with a real, beautiful landscape. Some elements originate from studies he made on his journey through the Alps to Italy. The castle - marvellously aligned with the shape of the mountain - has been identified as the Nuremberg castle, as it existed in Dürer's time. Excellent impression of fine contrasts on paper with the watermark High Crown, as listed by Meder for an a-impression.