Roof van een vrouw door man en sater c. 1542 - 1590

Benedetto di Stefani created this print showing the Rape of a Woman by a Man and Satyr using engraving. We can read the image as an allegory of male power in the Renaissance and the place of women in the social hierarchy. Prints such as this one were widely circulated in Europe in the sixteenth century. The artist has used the visual codes of classical mythology and architecture, such as the temple in the background, to represent the power of the ruling class and the political elite who identified with the Roman Empire. The satyr is a figure of lust and disorder. The struggles within the composition evoke a tension between reason and passion, culture and nature, male and female. For a deeper understanding, we might consider the circulation of this image and its presence in domestic settings to study the social and institutional history of art.