Artwork Page for The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate

Details / Information for The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate

Series Title: The Life of the Virgin

The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate

1504

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
View all records in artwork set
Culture
Germany, early 16th Century
Medium
woodcut
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1959.99.4
Catalogue raisonné
Meder 191b
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The first three woodcuts of Dürer’s narrative (1959.99.2-4) portray the events leading up to the Virgin’s birth. According to an apocryphal text, Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna, had remained childless into old age. After Joachim’s offering at the temple was rejected for this reason, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the wilderness to announce that his wife would soon bear a child. At this news, the two tenderly embraced at the city’s gate.
A vertically oriented print in dense black-inked fine lines depicts people with light skin tones within an ornate floral arch. At the center, a man in a long robe and a woman with a hooded head covering embrace. To the left, four men stand watching. Beyond a gated wall, a castle sits atop a distant hill. Small figures and vines decorate the border, while a monogrammed tile sits on the floor.

The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate

1504

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany, early 16th Century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork