The Fall of Man

probably c. 1509/1510

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This is a drawing of two figures standing under a tree entwined with a serpent, with various animals in the foreground. It depicts a scene in a forested area where two nude figures are embracing each other beneath a tree that has a serpent wrapped around its trunk. In the background, there are large leaves and fruits. In the foreground, there is a wild pig on one side and a goat and a small dog on the other. The scene is detailed with intricate line work, capturing the texture of the tree bark and the fur of the animals.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    block: 12.8 × 9.7 cm (5 1/16 × 3 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 13.5 × 10.3 cm (5 5/16 × 4 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3669

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 126

  • Series Title

    The Small Woodcut Passion

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Hollstein and Puppel, Schloss E sale, Berlin, May 6-9, 1929, lot no. 265); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d); gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • The Old Testament in Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, Notre Dame, IN, 1965.

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. 187.

Inscriptions

in block, bottom right, on tablet: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: B.17; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: 265

Watermarks

High crown (fragment) (Meder 20)

Wikidata ID

Q18338580

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