Artwork
The Life of the Virgin
The Life of the Virgin is a print by the Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It dates from 1510 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1959.99
- Credit line
- Dudley P. Allen Fund
About this work
Overview
The Life of the Virgin is a print series by Albrecht Dürer, with a frontispiece that reimagines traditional depictions of the Virgin Mary.
Subject & Meaning
The frontispiece combines multiple representations of Mary: the nursing Madonna, the Madonna of Humility, and the Virgin standing in a crescent moon, conveying her regal, motherly, and humble aspects.
Technique & Style
The image is a woodcut, a medium that allowed Dürer to densely pack symbolic elements into a compact format, making it portable.
Context
Dürer's representation draws on established devotional imagery, synthesizing various Mary iconographies into a single image.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
![Madonna and Child [obverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--madonna-and-child-obverse--d7b8ebf05d22ebe5-w320.webp)
![Lot and His Daughters [reverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--lot-and-his-daughters-reverse--b4ebf9b282faa17a-w320.webp)
