Artwork
The Ill-Assorted Couple
The Ill-Assorted Couple is an ink print by the Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It dates from 1496 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:in plate, bottom center: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: 39 [upside down]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: 256; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B.93
- Markings
- Marked:purple stamp at bottom right of verso, very smudged
About this work
Overview
The Ill-Assorted Couple is an engraving on laid paper created by Albrecht Dürer in 1496.
Subject & Meaning
The engraving depicts a genre scene of an elderly man in fine attire with a younger woman, their hands touching lightly, accompanied by a monkey clinging to the man's sleeve.
Technique & Style
Dürer's work is characterized by dense, fine lines, with techniques such as cross-hatching used to create shading, evident in the detailed rendering of the monkey's fur.
Own this work as a print
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)
