The Virgin on the Crescent

c. 1515/1518

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

The image shows a woman standing and holding an infant in her arms. The woman is upright, facing forward, and supporting the child with both hands. Her facial features are delicately drawn with a calm expression, and she wears a crown on her head. She is dressed in long, flowing garments. The infant she holds faces forward and wears a smaller robe. Both figures are surrounded by a radiant halo. The woman wears no visible jewelry, but her crown stands out. The scene is set against a background with lines implying light radiating from the figures.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate): 5.1 × 3.5 cm (2 × 1 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1953.4.2

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. e. 12, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA, 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 119, a.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. e. 12, state only.

Wikidata ID

Q65214198

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