Witch Riding on a Goat

Albrecht Dürer

National Gallery of Art

This print shows a nude woman riding backwards on a large flying goat. The goat faces the right and has its front legs outstretched, while the woman faces the left and has one arm out behind her to grab one of the goat's horns. Her long hair flows out behind her, and her face appears wrinkled. She has a long cloth draped around her right elbow, and in that hand she holds a tall object with a bundle at the top. Below her and the goat, several cherubic figures stand or lay on the ground. They are nude and have small wings. Two stand and hold objects, including a potted plant and a circular object that looks like a large jug or beehive. Closer to us, two of the cherubs are on the ground, one bowing down and one laying with an arm outstretched. The ground they are on appears sandy, with small rocks and sparse patches of grass. Behind the group is a body of water or flat plain. The sky behind the woman on the goat is blank, except for some rays that appear in the top left corner of the print.