Peasant and His Wife

c. 1497/1498

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows a full-body illustration of two individuals, a man and a woman, standing next to each other on a textured ground. The man is positioned with his left arm raised and his right arm pointing, appearing to be in a moment of animated conversation. He has unkempt hair, and his facial features are characterized by an open mouth and expressive eyes. He is dressed in a belted tunic with puffed sleeves and tighter-fitting pants, completed with shoes. The woman stands slightly turned towards the man, with her arms gracefully at her side, holding a decorative pitcher. She has braided hair adorned with long strands hanging down and possesses calm facial features with eyes cast downward. Her clothing is a long, flowing gown with detailed folds and wide sleeves, also featuring shoes peeking beneath the hem. The background is a simple gradient.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate): 10.8 × 7.7 cm (4 1/4 × 3 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3466

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 86


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d) at Hollstein & Puppel, Berlin, sale XLII, 1929, no. 395; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

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. 1: no. 14.

Inscriptions

in plate, bottom center: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B.83 / S.19 [?]; verso, bottom right, in graphite by a later hand: 395

Watermarks

bull's head with crosses and triangle at bottom (Meder 64)

Wikidata ID

Q18338504

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