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History of Science Museum

Print (Engraving) of 'Melencolia I', by Albrecht Durer, 1514

Inventory Number 60252


Acknowledgement: © History of Science Museum, University of Oxford, inv.60252

Item type
Object
Primary inscriptions
Signed within the image (lower right) '1514 A D' [= Albrecht Durer]. Titled within the image (inside the wings of a queer beast, spread to resemble a scroll or cartouche): 'MELENCOLIA I'.
Other inscriptions
Pencil inscription on back: 'B VII = 87 = 74 | C. A par [?illeg] | (1602)'. Interesting watermark. Does the inscription refer to the watermark - a reference to Briquet?
Physical material
Paper
Object type
Print
Dimensions
Height: 235mm Width: 189mm
Inventory No
60252

Description

Durer's most famous and most discussed and 'interpreted' engraving is a dense allegorical composition featuring a young woman with angel's wings holding dividers, surrounded by numerous symbolic objects, including carpentry tools, a sphere, a polygon, a ladder, a balance (scales), a sand-glass, and a numerical magic-square. See also 16752, Durer's St Jerome, which is a companion work.