The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 19, 2024

Melencolia I

Melencolia I

1514
(German, 1471–1528)
Overall: 23.8 x 18.6 cm (9 3/8 x 7 5/16 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Meder 75
Location: not on view

Description

Although the title indentifies the subject as melancholy, the means by which Dürer demonstrates this emotional state is complex, making Melencolia I the most analyzed and discussed of Dürer’s works. Dürer personifies melancholy as a formidable female—her power originates in her ability to alter a man’s temperament into a melancholic state. Immobilized by her lack of creativity, the winged goddess sits dispiritedly surrounded by the tools and instruments she has lost the inspiration to use. Among intellectuals, melancholy was often associated with introspective, educated people, even genius. Because artists were especially prone to melancholy, this image has been interpreted as Dürer’s spiritual self-portrait, implying that the artist identified with her creative plight.
  • Sims, Lowery Stokes. The persistence of geometry: form, content, and culture in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. no. 25, p. 117, repr. p. 50 & tailpiece.
    T. S. “Dürer’s Melancholia.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 13, no. 7 (July 1926): 157–159. Mentioned: p. 159; Reproduced: p. 157 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 644 archive.org
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  • {{cite web|title=Melencolia I|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=1514|access-date=19 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1926.211