1497
ink
paper
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Three Peasants in Conversation is a 1497 ink by Albrecht Dürer, a Northern Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This black-and-white print shows three men standing close together. One has his back to us, wearing a simple tunic and a hat. The other two face each other, dressed in loose shirts and hats, with one holding a rolled-up cloth and the other a tool or weapon. Their clothes look worn, and the lines on their faces are sharp. The artist used tiny crisscrossed lines to build up shadows and texture, giving the scene depth. This is how engraving works—carving lines into metal to print the image. Next, look up engraving to see how artists create these detailed prints.
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
See the richer artist page
![Madonna and Child [obverse]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/d7b8ebf05d22ebe5/thumb.webp)
![Lot and His Daughters [reverse]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/b4ebf9b282faa17a/thumb.webp)
