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Johann Theodor de Bry

Bath of Sardanapalus

n.d.
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
15.9 × 15.6 cm (6.3 × 6.1 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Sardanapalus was a mythical ancient Assyrian king known for his excessive pursuit of physical pleasure. He appears here being bathed by a bevy of women, though he was said to have many concubines of both genders. Johann Theodor de Bry copied and reshaped another artist’s rectangular print of a moralizing subject to create this composition, surrounding it with a sumptuously detailed border of foodstuffs, animals, and grotesque hybrid creatures.

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