Abduction on a Unicorn

1516

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This is a drawing of mythological creatures in a dynamic scene. A centaur is depicted engaging with a unicorn. The background consists of swirling clouds and a rugged landscape. The drawing includes intricate details showing the textures and forms of the creatures. The style resembles an old master's engraving style.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching (iron) on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 30.7 × 20.9 cm (12 1/16 × 8 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3534

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 67

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1929

  • Engravings by Albrecht Durer from the collection of Lessing J. Rosenwald of Philadelphia, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1929, no. 45 (as Le Rape).

1949

  • Goethe as a Print Lover: to Celebrate the Bicentennial of his Birth, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, 1949, no catalogue.

1960

  • Prints by Albrecht Dürer, University of Kansas Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS, 1960, no. 39.

1970

  • Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528: A Study Exhibition of Print Connoisseurship, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, 1970-1971, no. 47B.

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. 1: no. 83.

Inscriptions

in plate, upper right, on cloud: 1516 / AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: La Pohe [?]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: No 4412; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: B 72; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: 64 [sideways]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: 5

Watermarks

anchor in circle (Meder 171)

Wikidata ID

Q64952672

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