The Werewolf or the Cannibal 1472 - 1553

Lucas Cranach the Elder created this unsettling woodcut, "The Werewolf or the Cannibal," with stark contrasts of black ink on paper. The composition is densely packed, drawing the eye to a gruesome scene of violence and chaos in what could be a domestic setting. The sharp lines delineate forms with disturbing clarity, emphasizing the horror of the werewolf figure devouring a child amidst scattered limbs. Cranach's linear method creates a sense of unease, amplified by the jarring juxtaposition of rural life - such as peasants, farm animals and village life - with the monstrous. This highlights the intrusion of primal savagery into the everyday. The artist uses a high vantage point, creating a sense of distance from the horror, a gaze upon a fallen world. The detailed rendering of the figures and landscape is characteristic of the Northern Renaissance, but here, it serves to underscore the darker aspects of human existence and its potential collapse into barbarity. The artist challenges the Renaissance ideals of order and rationality, revealing unsettling possibilities of the human psyche.