The Turkish Family
Original title: The Turkish Family
kurzbeschreibung
A man with a bow, a woman with two children, all in Oriental dress, stand in a plain landscape: this is what Albrecht Dürer's engraving "The Turkish Family" from around 1496 presents. The sheet, only 10.2 x 7.3 cm, is considered an early testament to Dürer's engagement with the Orient.
Description
Symmetrically arranged, a man and a woman stand at the center; the woman holds one child in her arms while another walks at her side. The man wears a Turkish headpiece, a long coat, and carries a bow. The woman is dressed in a headpiece and a simple garment that leaves her breasts uncovered. Behind them stretches a barren landscape with a hill and a tree. The print's gray tones are modeled through fine lines and hatching that bring out textures and shadows.
Context
Created around 1496, the engraving falls into a period when the Ottoman Empire was present in Europe and interest in Turkish culture was growing. The scene likely goes back to sketches Dürer made during his first Italian journey (1494–1495), perhaps after encounters with Turkish envoys or mercenaries in Venice. The motif of the "Turkish family" was rare in art at the time and reveals Dürer's ethnographic interest. The signature "JDA" in the lower area is unusual and might point to the artist's early experimental spirit.
Impact
The precise linework and the calm, symmetrical arrangement make the sheet appear objective and documentary. That the woman is shown with bare breasts and the man armed creates a certain strangeness that makes the viewer curious about the exotic counterpart. The restriction to gray tones gives the scene a timeless, almost archaeological feel.
Technique
This engraving is printed in black ink on paper, and the sheet shows the plate's full surface because it was trimmed to the platemark. Fine parallel hatching and cross-hatching model the shadows and folds of the drapery, giving the monochrome print its subtle tonal depth.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)