Coat of Arms of the German Empire and Nuremberg City

1521

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This is a drawing depicting a heraldic composition with allegorical elements. The image includes two winged figures seated on clouds at the top, holding symbols of justice and abundance. Below them, a crowned double-headed eagle emblem is featured. Additional winged figures on either side appear to be supporting shields bearing smaller heraldic symbols. The style of the drawing indicates an intricate and orderly execution, typical of early 16th-century engravings.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 24.2 × 16.9 cm (9 1/2 × 6 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3685

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 285

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Baron Adalbert von Lanna [1836-1909], Prague, Bohemia (Lugt 2773); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b), 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1968

  • Good and Bad Angels, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, IN, 1968, no catalogue.

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. 285.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 3: no. 273.1

Inscriptions

in block, top center: SANCTA / IVSTICIA / 1521; verso, upper right above collector's mark, in graphite by a later hand: 7688; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: auction R. von Retberg; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B [illegible] 4/III 86 [erased]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: W [illegible] [erased]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C 15691; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: UR [?]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C 14958 [crossed out]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: A 20; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B 162; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: B 162; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: I; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: 3646

Watermarks

gothic P with a flower (similar to Meder 323)

Wikidata ID

Q18339705

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