The Genius with the Alphabet

These rich impressions demonstrate the harder appearance of Sebald Beham's engravings, compared with the softer lines of his brother Barthel's prints. Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras was probably conceived as a pattern sheet, which artisans would have used as a model for carving wood or metal. In the brilliant Genius with the Alphabet, Sebald alludes to the allegorical concept of Genius, a spirit that appears to people through dreams or omens to signal future dangers.