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Museum object · Visual Arts

Orpheus and Eurydice being bitten by Asp

1982

Smithsonian NMAAHC collection

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A linocut depicting the scene of Eurydice being bitten by a snake. Eurydice is shown as a nude female figure, being held by a nude male figure (Orpheus) while a snake wraps around Eurydice’s proper left leg to bite her on the thigh. The couple is depicted in a woodland setting, amidst foliage and flowers, between two pools of water. A devil figure watches from the upper right corner of the print, between two tree trunks. The upper left corner of the print has a sun, with rays falling on rounded shapes. There are no inscriptions, front or back.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2023.111.26.2

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