The cook and his wife

Unknown artist

Dürer made the copper engraving “Der Koch und sein Weib” around 1496. Rather, the figures seem to serve a milieu study, because they represent an identifiable narrative. The overweight man wears unfine clothes, is unshaven and holds a frying pan and cooking spoon in his hand. With his unkempt appearance, he contrasts strongly with his companion, who can be recognized by her clothing as a Nuremberg woman. She carries with her hood, pouch and key the characteristic attributes of a housewife. The fact that she too carries a spoon was seen as a connecting element of the figures. (Cf. Schoch I.54.13) The bird, which settled on the shoulder of the man with beating wings, lead researchers to different interpretations.