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Lot Essay
A knight in armour on his magnificent charger makes his way through a rocky gorge. It is a hostile place with barren, broken trees, thorny shrubs and a human skull placed on a tree stump, as if in warning. Two figures stand by the wayside, emerging from the rocks behind; King Death with snakes winding through his crown, astride an old mare, holding an hourglass; and a monstrous devil standing on his hoofs, holding a pike.
Countless attempts have been made to identify the central figure, which Dürer simply referred to as der Reuther ('the rider'). Suggestions have included emperor, pope, heretic, Germanic hero and local patrician. None of the potential candidates, either historical or mythological, have been substantiated. The knight as robber baron - a genuine threat in the days of Dürer - is also lacking visual evidence. The precursors of Dürer's rider are the two great equestrian statues of the Italian 15th century, Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Colleoni in Venice, both of which Dürer had seen, and - much closer to home - the Rider of Bamberg Cathedral. Whatever his true identity, Dürer's rider is clearly cast in the heroic mould, a model of courage and moral strength, the Christian Knight, who does not fear Death or the Devil.
Impressions of this print can vary greatly, not just in quality, but also in character. Fine, early impressions can be dark and brooding, almost nocturnal, or luminous and silvery, suggestive of a cold winter day, such as the present example, which adds to the desolation of the scene.
With this print of 1513, one of the three engravings that later came to be known as the Meisterstiche (see also lot 334), Dürer had reached the height of his virtuosity as a printmaker. The variety of marks he employed to describe a multitude of different textures and surfaces - from the hard, cold metal of the helmet, to the sheen of the horse's coat, the coarser fur of the dog, the splintered wood of the tree stump, the roots and grass on the crumbly rock, and so much more - is a delight to observe; despite or perhaps because of the ghastly subject.
Countless attempts have been made to identify the central figure, which Dürer simply referred to as der Reuther ('the rider'). Suggestions have included emperor, pope, heretic, Germanic hero and local patrician. None of the potential candidates, either historical or mythological, have been substantiated. The knight as robber baron - a genuine threat in the days of Dürer - is also lacking visual evidence. The precursors of Dürer's rider are the two great equestrian statues of the Italian 15th century, Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Colleoni in Venice, both of which Dürer had seen, and - much closer to home - the Rider of Bamberg Cathedral. Whatever his true identity, Dürer's rider is clearly cast in the heroic mould, a model of courage and moral strength, the Christian Knight, who does not fear Death or the Devil.
Impressions of this print can vary greatly, not just in quality, but also in character. Fine, early impressions can be dark and brooding, almost nocturnal, or luminous and silvery, suggestive of a cold winter day, such as the present example, which adds to the desolation of the scene.
With this print of 1513, one of the three engravings that later came to be known as the Meisterstiche (see also lot 334), Dürer had reached the height of his virtuosity as a printmaker. The variety of marks he employed to describe a multitude of different textures and surfaces - from the hard, cold metal of the helmet, to the sheen of the horse's coat, the coarser fur of the dog, the splintered wood of the tree stump, the roots and grass on the crumbly rock, and so much more - is a delight to observe; despite or perhaps because of the ghastly subject.