Original 16th-Century Virgil Solis Woodcut — Medea Rejuvenating Aeson

Virgil Solis (1514–1562) | Ovid’s Metamorphoses | Germany, 16th Century

An original 16th-century Renaissance woodcut illustrating one of the most remarkable scenes of magic and sorcery in classical literature: Medea restoring the youth of Aeson.

The story appears in Book VII of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

After helping Jason obtain the Golden Fleece, the legendary sorceress Medea turns her supernatural abilities toward Jason’s elderly father, Aeson.

Her objective is extraordinary:

To make an old man young again.

Medea’s Magic Cauldron

Ovid describes Medea performing an elaborate ritual and preparing a magical potion within a great bronze cauldron.

The ingredients read almost like an ancient recipe for witchcraft.

Into the boiling mixture she places roots, seeds, flowers and dark juices gathered in Thessaly; stones from the distant East; sand washed by the Ocean; frost gathered beneath the moon; the wings and flesh of the mysterious strix; portions of a wolf associated with transformation between human and animal form; serpent skin; and the liver of a long-lived stag.

The present woodcut depicts this dramatic ritual.

Medea stands beside the great vessel while the elderly Aeson lies stretched upon the ground. Behind them, flames rise dramatically from a series of ritual altars.

The Original Latin Survives

Remarkably, substantial original Latin letterpress survives on the reverse of the fragment.

The visible passage corresponds approximately to Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book VII, lines 261–273 and describes the very magical preparation represented in the accompanying woodcut.

Among the surviving lines is:

“Et strigis infames ipsis cum carnibus alas…”

Ovid includes the infamous wings of the strix, together with its flesh, among Medea’s ingredients.

The passage also contains an especially intriguing reference to:

“inque virum soliti vultus mutare ferinos
ambigui prosecta lupi…”

—a mysterious wolf associated with changing its bestial appearance into that of a man.

Once the potion is completed, Medea performs the final stage of her ritual. She opens Aeson’s throat, drains his old blood, and fills him with the magical preparation.

The transformation succeeds.

Aeson’s gray hair becomes dark. His wrinkles disappear. His strength returns.

The elderly man awakens restored to the vigor of his youth.

Details

Artist/Design: Virgil Solis (1514–1562)
Subject: Medea Rejuvenating Aeson / Medea’s Magic Cauldron
Work: Ovid, Metamorphoses
Book: Book VII
Visible Latin: Approximately lines 261–273
Design first published: Frankfurt, 1563
Date: 16th century
Origin: Germany
Medium: Original woodcut on laid paper
Reverse: Original Latin letterpress
Approx. image size: 6.3 × 8.2 cm

Condition

The woodcut survives with a strong and attractive impression and excellent detail for its age.

Some discoloration and staining are present, including visible areas around the central figure and flames. The piece has been trimmed from its original book leaf.

The reverse retains substantial original Latin letterpress together with remnants of an old mounting. A reddish strip of mounting paper remains adhered across the upper portion, along with smaller traces of historical mounting material.

The old mounting material has intentionally been left undisturbed to avoid risking damage to the approximately 450-year-old paper.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.