Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

Title: Temptation of the Idler/Dream of the Doctor
Creator: Dürer, Albrecht, artist
Description: This image was widely believed to depict a doctor, due to the male figure's headdress. This interpretation is no longer widely accepted, although the figure's clothing and Kachelofen, or tiled hearth, mark him as well to do. He sleeps sitting next to the hearth and leans against large cushions. Venus (modeled on the classical Venus Pudica), accompanied by Cupid, extends her hand to the sleeping man while Cupid attempts to walk on stilts. A winged demon pumps a bellows into the man's ear. This scene may carry a moralizing message in which the man has a lustful dream, represented by the gesturing Venus, as the demon's bellows inflame his thoughts. Sleeping or napping during the day—being idle—was believed to leave one vulnerable to impure dreams brought on by demons.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public domain
Subject (See Also): Classical Influences Cupid Demons Domestic Space Nocturnal Emissions Nude Sexuality
Geographic Area: Germany
Century: 15
Date: ca. 1498
Related Work:
Current Location: New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Original Location:
Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Prints
Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Engravings
Donor:
Height/Width/Length(cm): 11.9 cm/18.8 cm/
Inscription:
Related Resources: