Artwork Page for The Birth of the Virgin

Details / Information for The Birth of the Virgin

Series Title: The Life of the Virgin

The Birth of the Virgin

c. 1503–1504

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
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Culture
Germany, early 16th Century
Medium
woodcut
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1959.99.5
Catalogue raisonné
Meder 192 b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Dürer devoted three woodcuts (1959.99.5-7) to the significant events in Mary’s youth prior to her sacred calling. His depiction of her birth recalls a contemporary birthing scene, complete with midwives, female friends, and relatives. Anna rests from her efforts in the background while an attendant bathes the infant Mary in the immediate right foreground. The religious significance of the event is made known by the presence of an angel above. In the subsequent prints Mary is presented several years later at the temple (running up the stairs), followed by her betrothal to an older widowed man named Joseph.
A vertically oriented woodcut in dense black-inked fine lines depicts the Birth of the Virgin within a vaulted interior. In the foreground, women with light skin tones gather around the infant Mary. To the right, Saint Anne rests in a large curtained bed attended by women. Above the scene, a winged angel floats within thick, swirling clouds. An arched border frames the top, and a monogrammed tablet sits on the floor.

The Birth of the Virgin

c. 1503–1504

Albrecht Dürer

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

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