
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).
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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
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Provenance
collection of Frederic P. Norton; donated to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1999Class
Work Type
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
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Other Works by This Artist
Martyrdom of Ten Thousand
,- The Virgin and Child with a Monkey ,
Peasant and Wife
,- The Prodigal son ,
Christ on the Mount of Olives
,Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand
,The Babylonian Whore
,- St. Eustace ,
The Crucifixion (from the Little Passion)
,Detail from the Triumphal Arch of Maximilian
,- Melencolia I ,
- St. Jerome in Penitence ,