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Coat-of-Arms of Death
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
1503
Medium/Technique
Engraving
Dimensions
Platemark: 22.0 x 15.6 cm (8 11/16 x 6 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William Norton Bullard
Accession Number23.976
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
The mysteries of love and death, youth and old age, are recurrent themes in Dürer's early work. A wild man, supporting a shield that displays a skull, accosts a younger woman dressed in Nuremberg dance costume and bridal crown. The full extent of Dürer's mastery of the engraver's burin is visible in this unusually fine impression, capable of exhibiting a range of textures.
Catalogue Raisonné
Bartsch (intaglio) 101, Fine; Meder 98b
Marks
no visible watermark
Inscriptions"AD, 1503" in plate; On verso, "101" on verso, bottom left, "a48562" bottom left, and "30B" bottom right in graphite; FB stamp in brown ink; RF stamp with bird in purple ink
ProvenanceRichard Fisher (b. 1809 - d. 1890), Hill Top, Midhurst; Francis Bullard (b. 1862 - d. 1913), Boston, MA; by inheritance to his brother, Dr. William Norton Bullard (b. 1853 - d. 1931), Boston, MA; April, 1923, given by him to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 1, 1923)