Satyr carrying a nymph, whose right arm is wrapped around the satyr's neck, with a planar background 1505 - 1562

Giulio Romano made this print of a satyr carrying a nymph sometime in the first half of the 16th century. He’s working within a long tradition of classical imagery that was then being revived in the Renaissance. But let’s think about how this image creates meaning through visual codes and cultural references. Satyrs were mythical creatures known for their lust and association with wild, untamed nature. Nymphs were spirits of nature, often associated with springs, rivers, and forests. Romano was working in Italy, where the Catholic Church held enormous power. How might the Church have felt about the celebration of pagan and pre-Christian imagery? How might the elite patrons who consumed Romano’s art have viewed such a scene? The historian’s role is to place such works in the context of social and institutional forces. We can consult letters, diaries, and financial records to better understand the political and cultural meanings that viewers at the time would have found in this work.