Centaur en drie honden before 1650

Antonio Tempesta made this print called 'Centaur and three dogs' some time between 1570 and 1630. The work speaks to the early modern fascination with the natural world and the menagerie. The image uses established visual codes and cultural references; we see the mythological figure of the centaur and, on the right, three canines. The work was made in Italy, a culture steeped in classical learning. The centaur was believed to be a wild and lascivious being, yet here he seems quite noble, drawing an arrow, and perhaps indicative of the gentlemanly pursuit of hunting. The dogs, meanwhile, may simply reflect the love of pets in the early modern household. Prints like this circulated widely and speak to the emerging art market of the time, with institutions like the Rijksmuseum now acting as custodians. To fully understand Tempesta's work, we might research bestiaries, emblem books, and other texts of the time to better understand his source material and cultural assumptions.