Three Peasants in Conversation

c. 1497

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows three men standing closely together in a circular formation. Each man faces one another as if in conversation. The man on the left wears a long-sleeved tunic with a belt and a cap with a length of fabric hanging down the back. His facial features are partially visible, with a prominent nose and upward gaze towards the man in the middle. The central figure wears a turban-like headdress, has a thick beard and mustache, and holds a long stick or staff with both hands. He is dressed in a similar long-sleeved tunic and appears slightly taller. The man on the right is facing slightly towards the middle man; he wears a wide-brimmed fur hat and a layered tunic with a belt. His face shows a prominent nose and small eyes, and he holds a woven basket in his right hand, with a small case or sheath hanging from his belt. The background is plain, emphasizing the detailed linework and texture on the men's clothes and features.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

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

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3473

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 87, State b


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Count Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg [1805-1865], Klein Öls, Silesia (Lugt 2669); Clendenin J. Ryan, Sr. [1881-1939], New York; (his sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 17 January 1940, no. 89); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1940; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1953

  • Nuremberg and the German World, 1460-1530: Prints and books from the Kress and Rosenwald Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953.

1971

  • Dürer in America: His Graphic Work, NGA, 1971, no. 9, repro.

1997

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

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. 15.

Inscriptions

in plate, bottom center: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B86

Watermarks

none visible

Wikidata ID

Q18338501

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