The Monstrous Pig of Landser

The Monstrous Pig of Landser by Albrecht Dürer, executed in 1496, is a powerful example of German Renaissance printmaking that circulated widely in the period spanning 1401 to 1500. Created as an engraving on laid paper, the print documents an alleged natural event a few years prior in the town of Landser, Germany. This work captures a bizarre, severely deformed animal, an image meant to be read as a sensational report or a portent of disaster common to the Northern European imagination.

The subject matter, though sensational, is treated with the exacting technical precision that characterizes Dürer’s output. The exceptional detail achieved by Dürer in his handling of line demonstrates the technical mastery he brought to the medium of prints early in his career. The finely tuned hatching and cross-hatching required to render the musculature of the creature and the textural difference of the surrounding terrain highlights Dürer’s foundational role in elevating the status of engraving as an independent art form. The artist’s early works like this established the standard for graphic art throughout the region.

In the late 15th century, images of anomalous births or deformities were highly sought after, functioning as a form of proto-journalism that fed the public appetite for marvels (mirabilia). The widespread distribution of such subjects, facilitated by the relative ease of reproducing works on paper, positioned Dürer at the forefront of the Northern Renaissance’s engagement with both popular culture and naturalistic observation. This significant artwork, considered one of Dürer’s earliest independent engravings, remains an important cultural marker of the era's fascination with the monstrous. This print resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.