“Nude Woman with the Zodiac” is a woodcut artwork created around 1502 by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, a prominent figure of the Northern Renaissance art movement. As a woodcut, this work is part of the printmaking tradition and falls within the genre of nude painting (nu), though it is not a painting in the traditional sense but rather a print.
The artwork depicts a standing nude female figure positioned within a circular framing device that includes zodiacal symbols. She is centered within a spherical structure, possibly representing the celestial sphere, that holds the signs of the zodiac in various segments. The figure’s arms extend to touch the frame, encompassing the zodiac symbols, linking the human form to the cosmos. Around the circumference of the circle, we see elements that could signify the four elements or directions, with hints of foliage suggesting an organic connection to the natural world. The woodcut showcases Dürer’s skill in illustrating intricate details and his interest in merging themes of humanism with the symbolic imagery of astrology and the sciences of his time.
