Artwork Page for Melencolia I

Details / Information for Melencolia I

Melencolia I

1514

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Measurements
Platemark: 23.8 x 18.9 cm (9 3/8 x 7 7/16 in.); Sheet: 24.5 x 19.4 cm (9 5/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr., in memory of Ralph King 1926.211
Catalogue raisonné
Meder 75
State
II/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

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.
Print in black ink with a winged figure on the right sitting in front of the exterior corner of a building, left elbow on left knee, looking to our left. To our left, a winged baby sits level with this figure's face, looking down at a skinny dog curled up at the first figure's feet. Tools and instruments litter the ground while, in the upper left the inscription "MELENCOLIA I" hovers over a water landscape.

Melencolia I

1514

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany

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