The Holy Family with Two Angels in a Vaulted Hall

c. 1504

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows multiple figures inside an intricately detailed archway, forming an indoor setting. At the center, a young child is being supported by a kneeling woman dressed in flowing robes. The child is seated on a cushion or seat, surrounded by the woman's arms. Two winged figures are kneeling to the left, likely angels, adorned in long garments, and attending to the child. To the right stands a man with a long beard and full robes, slightly bent forward, engaged with the central scene. Architectural elements, including a domed ceiling with decorative brickwork, surround the figures. Small figures reclined on the corners above the arch, with one possibly representing a cherub. The scene is set against a backdrop suggestive of a classical structure, enhancing the solemn and reverent atmosphere of the gathering.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image/block: 21.5 × 15.3 cm (8 7/16 × 6 in.)
    sheet: 22.3 × 16 cm (8 3/4 × 6 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3595

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 213

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Princes of Waldburg Wolfegg, Wolfegg (Lugt 2542); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1930; 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: no. 213.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 132.

Inscriptions

in block, lower left, on sheet: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, center right, in graphite by a later hand: B 100; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: KK 597 / 2/221; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: 1[S?]22[Z?] [underlined]; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: B. 100 / [inscription in French] / [inscription in French] Waldburg Wolfegg

Watermarks

high crown (Meder 20)

Wikidata ID

Q18339739

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