The Virgin and Child on a Crescent

c. 1513

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

The image shows a woman standing upright, holding a child in her arms. The child has a serene expression, and both have halos around their heads. The woman's hair flows down in loose waves, and she is dressed in garments that drape elegantly. Around them are cherubs or angels, some holding a crown above the woman's head. The background is filled with clouds, giving the scene a heavenly or supernatural atmosphere, with the figures surrounded by radiant lines.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of W.G. Russell Allen

  • Dimensions

    block: 7.2 × 4.9 cm (2 13/16 × 1 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 8.1 × 5.7 cm (3 3/16 × 2 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1941.1.148

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. w. 40

  • Series Title

    The Fall and Redemption of Man

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Albertina, Vienna (duplicate, Lugt 5g). W.G. Russell Allen [1882-1955], Boston; gift to the NGA, 1941.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 25.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. w. 40.

Wikidata ID

Q64952452

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