Death of the Virgin

c. 1470/1475

Martin Schongauer

Associated Names
Martin Schongauer

Artist, German, c. 1450 - 1491

This is a drawing of a medieval scene in an interior setting. The drawing depicts a detailed and intricate scene inside a room with a canopy bed. An elegantly dressed figure lies on the bed, surrounded by several robed figures, some carrying staffs, one holding a candle, and another reading from a book. The figures appear to be engaged in an important or solemn activity. The scene is rich in texture with attention to drapery, facial expressions, and various objects suggesting an atmosphere of significance or reverence.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of W.G. Russell Allen

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 25.7 × 17 cm (10 1/8 × 6 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1941.1.54

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 16, State i/ii

  • Series Title

    Life of the Virgin [Lehrs 5-7, 16]

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

W.G. Russell Allen [1882-1955], Boston; gift to NGA, 1941.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1964

  • Prints by Altdorfer, Dürer, Lucas van Leyden, and Schongauer from the National Gallery of Art Collection, Washington, D.C., 1964-1965, no cat.

1966

  • Master Prints from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1966-1967, no catalogue.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1997, no catalogue.

2019

  • Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 2019-2021 (shown only in Dallas), no repro.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, no.16.

2019

  • Dickerson, C.D., III, and McDonald, Mark P.Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, 2019-2020.

Inscriptions

lower center, in plate: M + S [artist's monogram]; on verso at bottom left, by later hand, in graphite: Lu.N.N.[?] / B.33; on verso at bottom left, by later hand, in graphite: B-54 [upside down];on verso at bottom center, by later hand, in graphite: 376

Markings

none

Watermarks

bull's head with star

Wikidata ID

Q64960182

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