An Eastern Ruler Seated on His Throne

c. 1495

Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

A crowned, bearded man sits facing us on a throne, and he holds a sword and orb in this vertical drawing, which was made using black ink on parchment-colored paper. A three-peaked, jeweled crown nestles in a twisted turban on the man’s head. He faces us but his eyes look to our right, and he has a long, hooked nose and flowing hair and beard. A band of ornate jewels could be a collar resting over his shoulders and on his chest, or it could be that the edge of his robe is elaborately decorated. His robe has voluminous, flowing long sleeves and his garment is decorated with bands of jewels and fringe at the shoulders, hem, and down the front. His left hand, on our right, rests on a round orb about the size of an orange, and he holds the hilt of a jewel-encrusted sword upright with his other hand so the tip of the sword rests on the ground. The artist signed the work with his initials at the bottom center: “AD.”

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 30.6 x 19.7 cm (12 1/16 x 7 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1972.22.1.a

Associated Artworks

An Eastern Ruler Seated on His Throne

Albrecht Dürer

1495

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

William Young Ottley [1771-1836], London; Sir Thomas Lawrence [1769-1830], London, (Lugt 2445); S.G. Liesching, Stuttgart; Count Adolphe-Narcisse Thibeaudeau [1795-1856], Paris; (sale Paris, 20-25 April 1857, 268); private collection, United States; purchased privately (via Robert Light) by NGA, 1972.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1974

  • NGA Recent Acquisitions 1974, no. 3.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 20-21, repro.

1979

  • Early German Drawings & Prints: Two Recent Acquisitions and Related Works, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1979, no. 5.

1984

  • German Drawings from a Private Collection. The British Museum, London and tour (Washington only), hors de catalogue.

1991

  • Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991-1992, no. 109, repro.

1997

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

2003

  • Albrecht Dürer, Albertina, Vienna, 2003, no. 22, repro.

2013

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

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 7.

2019

  • Albrecht Dürer, Albertina Museum, Vienna, 2019-2020, no. 67.

Bibliography

1973

  • White, Christopher. "An Oriental Ruler on His Throne and The Entombment: Two New Drawings by Albrecht Dürer." Master Drawings 11:4 (1973), 365-369, 372-374.

1974

  • Strauss, Walter L. The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Dürer. 6 volumes. New York, 1974: I, no. 1495/18, 294-297.

  • Recent Acquistiions and Promised Gifts: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1974: 36-37.

1982

  • Strieder, Peter. Albrecht Dürer Paintings, Prints, Drawings. New York, 1982: fig. 126.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 658, no. 1037, color repro.

1987

  • Albrecht Durer oder Die Heimlichkeit der deutschen Ketzerei. Exh. cat. VCH, Weinheim, 1987: 30-35, 116-119.

1991

  • Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991-1992: no. 109.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 316, repro.

1995

  • Martinez, Benjamin and Jacqueline Block. Visual Forces: An Introduction to Design. 2nd edition, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995: 107, fig. c.

2001

  • Mittler, Gene A. and James D. Howze. Creating and Understanding Drawings. New York, 2001: 46, fig. 3.10.

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 1: p. 50 and fig. 50

2003

  • Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt. Albrecht Dürer. Vienna, 2003: no. 22, 162.

2005

  • Michelman, Dorothea S. "A German Treasure Trove: The National Gallery of Art." German Life (June/July 2005): 43, repro.

2011

  • Madar, Heather. "Dürer's depictions of the Ottoman Turks: A case of early modern Orientalism?" in The Turk and Islam in the Western Eye, 1450 - 1750, ed. James G. Harper, Farnham, 2011: 164-165 and 170-171, fig. 7.6.

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: 20-25, repr. pp. 21-22 (recto and verso)(color).

Inscriptions

inscribed (by another early hand?) in pen and black ink with Durer's monogram, partially cut; verso inscribed in graphite "Collection/du Comte Thibaudiau/Cat. No. 268).

Wikidata ID

Q64534008

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