Knight, Death, and the Devil, Albrecht Dürer

Artwork Overview

Albrecht Dürer, Knight, Death, and the Devil
Albrecht Dürer, Knight, Death, and the Devil
Albrecht Dürer
Knight, Death, and the Devil
1513
Albrecht Dürer, artist
1471–1528
Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513
Where object was made: Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany)
Material/technique: engraving
Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 245 x 189 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 9 5/8 x 7 7/16 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 19 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 1 1/2 in
Weight (Weight): 5 lbs
Credit line: Gift of the Max Kade Foundation
Accession number: 1969.0091
Not on display
Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
Episode 37 Jul-2005, Michelle Moseley Christian, History of Art Graduate Student I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. Over time, the original meaning of a work of art can be lost. Such is true of one of the treasures of the Spencer’s print collection, an engraving called “Knight, Death and the Devil,” made in 1513 by the German artist Albrecht Dürer. In this work, Dürer used only the swell and taper of lines to create the scene of an armored knight riding through a rocky landscape. The knight does not travel alone: Death in the form of a grinning cadaver rides alongside on a skeletal nag. Following close behind is the Devil-a hideous hybrid creature with the horns of a goat and a monstrous, pig-like face. Why does this motley crew proceed onward so purposefully? Perhaps the knight represents the ideal Christian, keeping to the straight and narrow path even as evil temptations beckon him? Or, is the soldier instead a pillaging marauder, terrorizing the countryside with his agents of destruction, Death and the Devil? Dürer remains mute on the subject of this famous print-he simply referred to his work as “the rider.” With thanks to Michelle Moseley Christian for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.