The Fifth Knot (with a six-pointed white shield)

probably 1506/1507

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This print displays a circular pattern filled with intricate, interwoven lines and shapes, creating a complex knotted design against a dark background. At the center of the circle is a small white, symmetrical shape that looks almost like the head of an ax. Surrounding the central circle are four dark triangular shapes with the same swirling designs, each located at the corners of the rectangular paper. These triangular shapes are framed by curling lines. The background is plain white paper.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    block: 27.4 × 21.7 cm (10 13/16 × 8 9/16 in.)
    sheet: 29.6 × 23.8 cm (11 5/8 × 9 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3603

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 278

  • Series Title

    Six Knots

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Richard Zinser, Forest Hills, NY); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1940; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1994

  • Fanciful Flourishes: Ornament in European Graphic Art and Related Objects, 1300-1800, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994.

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. 146.

Wikidata ID

Q18339667

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