Saint John before God and the Elders

probably c. 1496/1498

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image features a celestial scene with multiple figures depicted from head to waist. Two central figures are engaged in a conversation amidst clouds. One figure appears seated, possibly on a throne, holding a book. Both figures have long hair and beards. The robes worn by the figures are detailed. Other figures surround them in a semi-circle, some wearing crowns, holding items like bowls. Heavenly hosts with wings are seen above. The background shows a detailed landscape with trees, a river, and castles nestled in hills.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 39.3 × 28.1 cm (15 1/2 × 11 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1971.39.3

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 166

  • Series Title

    The Apocalypse

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Henry Studdy Theobald [1847-1934], London (Lugt 1375). Siegfried Barden [1854-1917], Hamburg (Lugt 218). (P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., London); purchased by NGA, 1971.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1974

  • NGA Recent Acquisitions 1974, no. 80.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 114.

Inscriptions

verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B.63; lower center, in graphite by a later hand: 4 [encircled]; bottom center, in graphite by a later hand: c.28586; bottom right corner, in graphite by a later hand: B-25,763

Markings

verso, bottom right corner: NGA stamp

Wikidata ID

Q18338535

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