I modi, Plate 18: Erotic Scene

The image is a monochrome print depicting a man with a short beard and curly hair standing and gripping the waist of a woman who reclines on a draped bed. The woman is positioned with her back against a large bolster, her head tilted back, and her right leg extended horizontally in the air. To the left, a detached, oversized lion head rests on a stone base near a window. The composition uses high-contrast shading to emphasize the musculature of the figures and the fabric folds of the bedding.

This work is a 19th-century recreation by Jean Frédéric Maximilien de Waldeck of the famous series of erotic prints known as 'I modi', originally designed by Marcantonio Raimondi after drawings by Giulio Romano. The inclusion of the lion head is an iconographic detail often associated with the 'I modi' set, reflecting the Renaissance interest in classical-inspired erotica.