The King's Sons Shooting Their Father's Corpse 1495 - 1505

"The King's Sons Shooting Their Father's Corpse," a woodcut by Master MZ, depicts a gruesome scene of fratricide. The artwork, created between 1495 and 1505, showcases the artist's masterful use of line and detail. The composition, with its focus on the central figure of the king's sons, emphasizes the brutality of the act. The artist's meticulous rendering of the figures, particularly the expression of horror on the faces of the king's sons, adds to the dramatic effect of the work. Master MZ, active in Nuremberg in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, specialized in woodcuts and this print, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exemplifies his skill in the medium. The artwork, with its grim subject matter, highlights the moral complexities of human nature and the consequences of power struggles within families.