The Death of the Virgin, from the Life of the Virgin
Original title: The Death of the Virgin, from the The Life of the Virgin
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many contemporary depictions of the Virgin's death, which often relocate the event to an open landscape, Albrecht Dürer's 1510 woodcut presents Mary's passing within an enclosed interior. The apostles gather around the deathbed. This print belongs to the series 'The Life of the Virgin' and shows the scene beneath a canopy.
Description
A vaulted room envelops the event, dominated by a large canopied bed. Its curtains are partly drawn back and fall in folds. On the bed lies Mary, surrounded by mourning apostles in various poses. The layout feels compressed; delicate lines and graduated hatching create spatial depth and material texture.
Context
The woodcut was made in 1510, during Dürer's second major Nuremberg period. It is part of a series of twenty woodcuts on the Life of the Virgin, which the artist issued between 1502 and 1511. The project aimed at a broad audience and cemented Dürer's reputation as a leading master of woodcut.
Impact
Narrative richness and the emotional expression of the figures define the print. Through precise linework and differentiated hatching, the image gains an almost painterly effect that draws the viewer into the event.
Technique
Dürer carved the motif into a wooden block, which was then used to print the image. The resulting print brings out delicate lines and nuanced hatching that articulate the curved ceiling, the large bed, and the partially opened canopy curtains hanging down.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)