Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). *Melencolia I*, 1514. Engraving, edition 2/50, 9 7/16 x 7 5/16 inches (24 x 18.6 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Frederic P. Norton, 1999 (P1999:6.150).

Albrecht Dürer

German, 1471-1528

Melencolia I, 1514

engraving

Edition: 2/50

sheet: 9 7/16 x 7 5/16 inches (23.97 x 18.57 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Gift of Frederic P. Norton, 1999

P1999:6.150

More Details

Inscriptions

inscription / in plate / [AD trademark initials] 1514

inscription / in pencil / [past catalogue numbers]

signature, dated / lower right, in plate / AD 1515

Provenance

collection of Frederic P. Norton; donated to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1999

Class

Prints

Work Type

Engraving (print)

This information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

On his extended travels to Venice and Bologna, Albrecht Dϋrer studied humanist philosophy and the art of the Italian Renaissance, and he incorporated what he learned into his graphic production. In Melencolia I, an angel personifing “genius” is seated among symbols of creative activity in architecture, astronomy, carpentry, geometry, mathematics, and metallurgy. The angel appears to have fallen into a mournful gloom from which her vaunted imagination cannot raise her. Here, Dürer suggests that the spark of creativity can be stymied by melancholy, like a lead weight on the wings of inspiration.

While only a limited number of copies of this print exist due to the limitations of the copperplate printing process, the Albright-Knox holds two impressions in its collection. Both works were gifts: this one by Frederic P. Norton in 1999 and another by Willis O. Chapin in 1891 .

Label from Albrecht Dϋrer: Highlights from the Collection, May 2, 2014–July 6, 2014