The Battle of Two Men with the Centaur, ca. 1480

About the Work

This is the first depiction of a centaur in art north of the Alps. The ancient mythical creature—half human, half horse—is encountered earlier in Italian art, for example in Florentine engravings of the period around 1470s. Such prints presumably found their way from Italy to the Netherlands by way of trade routes. The Master IAM also followed Italian examples in his depiction of wild, violent gestures and movements, which were entirely unusual in Northern European art.