The Nativity

probably c. 1509/1510

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This is a drawing of a nativity scene. The image shows a rustic structure with a wooden beam roof, from an interior perspective. Inside, a baby lies in a crib filled with straw, surrounded by figures. To the right, there are trees and a bright star shining. An angel is depicted in the background, apparently announcing the event to another figure outside. The drawing is in a woodcut style, with strong lines and contrasts, and detailed textures in the wooden beams, clothing, and foliage.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 12.8 x 9.8 cm (5 1/16 x 3 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3636

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 129

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Joseph Daniel Böhm [1794-1865], Vienna (Lugt 271); Robert Scholtz [1834-1912], Budapest (Lugt 2241); (William Schab, New York); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1940; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1956

  • The Life of Christ in Prints, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1956-1957, no cat.

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. 2: no. 190.

Inscriptions

in block, lower right, on stairway: AD [artist's monogram] [backwards D]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: [indecipherable]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: 62; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: 5

Watermarks

none visible

Wikidata ID

Q18338583

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