The Virgin Appearing to Saint John

1510/1511

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows an intricate black and white illustration. It depicts a seated man, a crowned woman holding a child, and an eagle. The man has curly hair and a beard, wearing draped robes and holding a writing quill. The woman wears a crown and her hair flows down her back. The child has curly hair and is seated on the woman's lap. They are surrounded by flowing garments that extend to a crescent moon. The background features decorative cloud formations and light rays. Elaborate calligraphic text appears above the illustration.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Philip Hofer

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 37.8 × 24.4 cm (14 7/8 × 9 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1941.3.4

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 163

  • Series Title

    The Apocalypse: Title page of the 1511 edition

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Martin-von-Wagner-Museum, Universität Würzburg (Lugt 2541c, duplicate). Philip Hofer [1898-1984], Cambridge, MA; gift to NGA, 1941.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1973

  • The Apocalypse, University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, 1973, no. 10 (catalogue erroneously lists an impression from the Rosenwald Collection).

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. 111.

Inscriptions

verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: B-28 [upside down]; bottom center, in graphite by a later hand: 10123 / 12

Markings

verso, lower center: NGA stamp

Wikidata ID

Q18338531

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