Lot No. 12


Albrecht Dürer


Albrecht Dürer - Master Drawings, Prints before 1900

(Nuremberg 1471-1528)
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1503, woodcut, from the series "The Life of the Virgin", monogrammed AD, on fine laid paper with watermark "ox head" (M. 62), 30 x 21,2 cm, with fine margins along framing lines, Bartsch 87, Meder 199 a (of f), Schoch/ Mende/ Scherbaum 177 a (of f), mounted unframed, (Sch)

Provenance:
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, No. P. 37436 and F 81609;
Anonymous collector’s mark letters "vd", Lugt 2509 and Lugt 2067.

Very excellent, fine impression with rich contrasts of the Ist state Meder a (of f), prior to the Latin text edition, with the “oxhead” watermark for the early state mentioned by Meder (M.62). In excellent condition.

The present woodcut representing the "Adoration of the Magi" appeared as sheet no. 12 in the series "The Life of Mary" (1502-1510) in 1503 and was thus created prior to Dürer's second journey to Italy in 1505-1507. Like the other woodcuts of the series, the present composition is dominated by a mighty architectural backdrop, in front of which the protagonists are densely and ribbon-like packed across the lower front half of the picture. The architecture with its ruins is borrowed from the engraving "Adoration of Christ" by Martin Schongauer (c. 1475, Bartsch 6);
the framing arch above the Holy Family, which is rendered parallel to the picture plane and the thatched roof above the arriving kings are found in Schongauer's composition as well. In Dürer's work, however, the architecture corresponds more harmoniously with the figures;
in the left background the composition opens to a hilly landscape with a ruin. A drawing attributed to Dürer for the "Adoration of the Magi" (1500-1502), which presumably was preparatory for the woodcut, is in Bayonne, Musée Bonnat (cf. Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum, cat. 177, fig. p. 254). The present print is from the earliest edition of the woodcut series before 1511 and prior to the Latin text on the reverse and thus represents a so-called trial proof, which is extremely rare to find on the art market

Specialist: Mag. Astrid-Christina Schierz Mag. Astrid-Christina Schierz
+43-1-515 60-546

astrid.schierz@dorotheum.at

28.09.2022 - 14:06

Realized price: **
EUR 12,800.-
Estimate:
EUR 8,000.- to EUR 10,000.-
Starting bid:
EUR 8,000.-

Albrecht Dürer


(Nuremberg 1471-1528)
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1503, woodcut, from the series "The Life of the Virgin", monogrammed AD, on fine laid paper with watermark "ox head" (M. 62), 30 x 21,2 cm, with fine margins along framing lines, Bartsch 87, Meder 199 a (of f), Schoch/ Mende/ Scherbaum 177 a (of f), mounted unframed, (Sch)

Provenance:
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, No. P. 37436 and F 81609;
Anonymous collector’s mark letters "vd", Lugt 2509 and Lugt 2067.

Very excellent, fine impression with rich contrasts of the Ist state Meder a (of f), prior to the Latin text edition, with the “oxhead” watermark for the early state mentioned by Meder (M.62). In excellent condition.

The present woodcut representing the "Adoration of the Magi" appeared as sheet no. 12 in the series "The Life of Mary" (1502-1510) in 1503 and was thus created prior to Dürer's second journey to Italy in 1505-1507. Like the other woodcuts of the series, the present composition is dominated by a mighty architectural backdrop, in front of which the protagonists are densely and ribbon-like packed across the lower front half of the picture. The architecture with its ruins is borrowed from the engraving "Adoration of Christ" by Martin Schongauer (c. 1475, Bartsch 6);
the framing arch above the Holy Family, which is rendered parallel to the picture plane and the thatched roof above the arriving kings are found in Schongauer's composition as well. In Dürer's work, however, the architecture corresponds more harmoniously with the figures;
in the left background the composition opens to a hilly landscape with a ruin. A drawing attributed to Dürer for the "Adoration of the Magi" (1500-1502), which presumably was preparatory for the woodcut, is in Bayonne, Musée Bonnat (cf. Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum, cat. 177, fig. p. 254). The present print is from the earliest edition of the woodcut series before 1511 and prior to the Latin text on the reverse and thus represents a so-called trial proof, which is extremely rare to find on the art market

Specialist: Mag. Astrid-Christina Schierz Mag. Astrid-Christina Schierz
+43-1-515 60-546

astrid.schierz@dorotheum.at


Buyers hotline Mon.-Fri.: 10.00am - 5.00pm
kundendienst@dorotheum.at

+43 1 515 60 200
Auction: Master Drawings, Prints before 1900
Auction type: Online auction
Date: 28.09.2022 - 14:06
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 23.09. - 28.09.2022


** Purchase price incl. charges and taxes

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