Tuft of Cowslips

1526

Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

A clump of leaves with a few stems of tall, yellow blossoms are painted on a vertical sheet of tan-colored parchment. The leaves are long and rounded, with prominent, textured veining. A few blades of grass and sprigs of clover are interspersed among the dense clump of leaves. The cowslip blossoms are clusters of bell-shaped yellow petals at the end of a starburst-like formations of pale green tubes. The ground is painted an earthy gray, and the background is left blank. The artist dated the work, 1526, in the lower right corner over a monogram of his initials, AD.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G23

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gouache on parchment

  • Credit Line

    The Armand Hammer Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 19.3 x 16.8 cm (7 5/8 x 6 5/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1991.217.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private Collection, England; Hal O'Nians, London, England; to Armand Hammer Collection, 1971; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1971

  • Dürer in America - His Graphic Work, National Gallery of Art, 1971, no. 110.

  • Exhibited with the Armand Hammer collection from 1971, starting with Los Angeles County Museum of Art; except Birmingham Museum of Art, 1985, and not shown with the rest of the collection after Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1986.

  • Die Dürerzeichnungen der Albertina, Albertina Museum, Vienna, 1971, repro.

1974

  • Recent Acquisitions and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1974, no. 66.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 23.

1985

  • Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Dürer und die Tier-und Pflanzenstudien der Renaissance, Albertina Museum, Vienna, 1985.

1986

  • Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremburg, 1986, no. 126.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.

1999

  • From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999, no. 30, as Tuft of Cowslips by Albrecht Dürer.

2002

  • The Flowering of Florence, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, no. 5.

2010

  • Arcimboldo, 1526-1593: Nature and Fantasy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Palazzo Reale, Milan, 2010-2011, brochure no. 18, fig. 8 (shown only in Washington).

2013

  • Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2013 (exhibited hors catalogue).

Bibliography

1967

  • Benesch, Otto, Master Drawings in the Albertina, New York, 1967: 337.

1971

  • Koschatsky, Walter and Alice Strobl, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, die Dürerzeichnungen der Albertina zum 500 Geburstag, Vienna, 1971: no. 28.

1972

  • Shestack, Alan. "Dürer's Graphic Work in Washington and Boston." The Art Quarterly 35 (1972), p. 304.

  • Rowlands John. Review of Albrecht Dürer: 1471-1971 and Dürer in America, _Master Drawings_10, no. 4 (Winter 1972): 384.

  • Christopher White, "The Armand Hammer Collection: Drawings." Apollo Vol. 95 (June 1972): 457-458, fig. 2.

1974

  • Strauss, Walter L., The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Dürer, New York, 1974, Vol. 2, p. 726, no. 1503/37, repro. p. 727, (as Dürer about 1503).

1979

  • Christopher Andreae, "A Lone Cowslip." Christian Science Monitor (June 23, 1979): repro.

1980

  • Dickinson, Joan . "The Wonders of Watercolor." Realities (May/June 1980): 68-69, repro.

1983

  • Hilton Brown, "Looking at Paintings." American Artist Vol. 47, no. 492 (July 1983): pp. 58-59, 94-97, repro. in color.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 661, no. 1040, color repro.

1985

  • Koreny, Fritz, "Zu Dürers Tier-und Pflanzenstudien." Die Kunst (1985): 521-527, fig. 7.

1986

  • Graham, Virginia. "Invisible from the Motorway." Christian Science Monitor (March 1986), 34, repro.

1994

  • The Sciences (September/October 1994): 31.

  • Piel, Friedrich. Dürer: Aquarelles et dessins. Bibliotheque de L'Image, 1994: no. 38.

1999

  • From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999: no. 30.

2002

  • The Flowering of Florence. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002: no. 5.

2013

  • Robison, Andrew. "The Drawings of Albrecht Dürer." In exh. cat. Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2013: 34, 144, repr. p. 143 (color).

Inscriptions

by later hand, lower right in gouache: 1526 / AD

Wikidata ID

Q64534014

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