Samson Rending the Lion

Samson Rending the Lion is a powerful woodcut created by Albrecht Dürer between 1497 and 1498. This masterful example of Northern Renaissance printmaking illustrates the biblical narrative from the Book of Judges, where the hero Samson confronts a young lion near Timnah. Dating from a period when Dürer was establishing himself as the premier European printmaker, the work demonstrates the potential of the woodcut medium to achieve dramatic scale and intricate detail, surpassing previous limitations of the technique. Dürer’s sophisticated command over line and contrast allowed him to render textures, from the smoothness of Samson’s flesh to the tangled fury of the lion’s mane, generating a monumental depiction of the struggle.

Dürer centers the composition on the furious energy of the combat. Samson is depicted grappling with the fierce lion, his powerful, classically-inspired physique contrasting sharply with the beast’s raw, snarling violence. This scene, focusing on the moment the hero tears the lion's jaw, is one of the artist's most celebrated early prints and was instrumental in elevating the status of graphic arts across Europe. Dürer's treatment of the subject emphasizes both the hero’s divinely granted strength and the dramatic theological tension inherent in the tale of Samson. This important early work is preserved within the expansive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and due to its age and cultural impact, high-quality images of this classic print are frequently encountered in the public domain.