Female Nude Praying

1497/1500

Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

Drawn with brown ink on tan paper, a nude woman stands with her back to us, looking up and to our right with her hands together in prayer on this vertical sheet. Taking up most of the composition, she stands with her weight on her right foot and her left foot extended behind her and to the side. A scarf wraps around her hair and one end trails down her left shoulder. The edge of her right cheek and the tip of her nose are visible. Thin strokes outline the ample contours of her body and loose, parallel, curved strokes are used to create shadows on her arms, back, and legs. Tightly packed lines create darker shadows on her face.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 21.5 x 13.6 cm (8 7/16 x 5 3/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1999.31.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Furstenberg collection, Donaueschingen, Germany; purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, July 1985; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1971

  • Albrecht Dürer 1471-1971, Gërmanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, 1971, no. 468.

1990

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, no. 56.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996, no. 17.

1997

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

2006

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007.

2013

  • Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2013 (exhibited hors catalogue; mentioned p. 104, under no. 24 [entry by Berthold Hinz]).

2017

  • The Woodner Collections: Master Drawings from Seven Centuries, NGA, 2017.

2018

  • The Renaissance Nude, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Royal Academy of Fine Arts, London, 2018-2019 (shown only in Los Angeles).

Bibliography

1914

  • Baumeister, Engelbert. "Eine Zeichnung von Dürer." Jahrbuch der Königlich Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen 43 (1914): 224, repro.

1919

  • Pauli, Gustav. "Die Dürer-Literatur der Letzten drei Jahre." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 41 (1919): 27.

1927

  • Lippmann, Friedrich and Friedrich WInkler. Zeichnungen von Albrecht Dürer in Nachbildungen. Berlin, 1927: VI: 673.

1928

  • Beenken, H. "Besprechung zu Lippmann, Bd.VI." Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft. 1928: 5: 114.

1931

  • Flechsig, Eduard. Albrecht Dürer: Sein Leben und seine künstlerische Entwickelung. 2 vols. Berlin, 1931: II: 421, 569, no. 673.

1936

  • Winkler, Friedrich. Die Zeichnungen Albrecht Dürers. 4 vols. Berlin: 1936: I: no. 159.

1938

  • Tietze, Hans, and Erika Tietze-Conrat. Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke Albrecht Dürers. Basel and Leipzig, 1937: no. 561.

1943

  • Panofsky, Erwin. Albrecht Dürer. Princeton, 1943: 2: no. 1184.

1952

  • Musper, H. TH. Albrecht Dürer: Der Gegenwärtige Stand, Der Forschung. Stuttgart, 1952: 114, 332.

1957

  • Winkler, Friedrich. Albrecht Dürer, Leben und Werk. Berlin, 1957: 95.

1963

  • Oettinger, Karl and Karl-Adolph Knappe. Hans Baldung Grien und Albrecht Dürer in Nürnberg. Nuremberg, 1963: 93, 95.

1974

  • Strauss, Walter L. The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Dürer. 6 vols. 1974: II: no. 1500/12.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996: no. 17.

  • Jones, Jennifer. "The Woodner Collections at the National Gallery." Drawing 17 (September-October 1995): 49-53.

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: 28, repr. p. 103 (color).

Wikidata ID

Q64534016

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