Pig-freak Durer Engravings (1471-1528)

This is an engraving titled Pig-freak by Albrecht Dürer. The artwork depicts a grotesque, hybrid creature that is part human and part pig, standing on its hind legs with a human torso and head emerging from the back of a pig. The creature is set against a backdrop of a fortified town or castle on a hill, with a hilly, mountainous landscape in the distance.
The Pig-freak is a commentary on the perceived moral and physical degeneration of the time, possibly alluding to the Reformation or the political and social turmoil in Germany. The monstrous combination of human and animal was a common motif in art and literature of the period, often used to symbolize sin, heresy, or the unnatural. Dürers meticulous detail and realistic rendering of the grotesque subject matter amplify its disturbing impact, inviting viewers to contemplate the darker aspects of human nature and society.