ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)
ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)

The Virgin and Child with the Pear

Details
ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)
The Virgin and Child with the Pear
engraving
1511
on laid paper, watermark Anchor in a Circle with Star (Meder 171)
a brilliant, luminous Meder a impression
printing very sharply, with intense contrasts and much depth
with traces of burr and a subtle plate tone in places
trimmed to or just outside the platemark
in very good condition
Plate & Sheet 159 x 108 mm.
Provenance
Friedrich Quiring (b. 1886), Eberswalde (Lugt 1041c).
Kupferstichkabinett, Kunstmuseum Basel (Lugt 222b).
With E. & R. Kistner, Nuremberg.
Private Collection, Switzerland; acquired from the above in 1997; then by descent to the present owners.
Literature
Bartsch 41; Meder, Hollstein 33; Schoch Mende Scherbaum 63

Brought to you by

Stefano Franceschi
Stefano Franceschi Specialist

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Lot Essay

The present work is based on a preparatory drawing in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett. It is very close to the drawing, including the tree, the opulent drapery, and the two towers, which are a symbol of the Virgin. But it is most interesting to see that Dürer had already thought about how to depict the light in the engraving and, with a few lines, had indicated a dark sky and deep shadows over the faces of the Madonna and Child. The entire print is surprisingly dark for this rather idyllic subject, with the figures and landscape under a heavy sky seemingly illuminated by the sharp, cold light of a full moon.
The present, brilliant impression was once in the collection of the very discerning Friedrich Quiring, whose collector's mark is almost a guarantee for exceptional quality and condition.

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