Location

not on view

Description

Dürer depicted the scene of the Virgin’s death (1959.99.18) as an intimate one, with the apostles keeping vigil around her deathbed. Three days later they witnessed Mary’s bodily assumption into paradise where she was crowned the Queen of Heaven (1959.99.19). The final print (1959.99.20), which some believe was conceived independently from the series because it falls outside of the typical narrative, shows the Virgin in a domestic setting surrounded by several saints, angels, and putti that celebrate her life-an especially fitting way to end the series.

Citations

Dürer, Albrecht. The Life of the Virgin. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1959. Reproduced: p. 18, Plate 18 archive.org

Exhibition history

CMA 1996: Sets and Series: Five Centuries of Master Prints, February 20-May 5, 1996, no cat.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/22/2014 - 9/28/2014); "Dürer's Women: Images of Devotion & Desire"

Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).

Durer. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (April 6-May 8, 1971).

Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981).

Albrecht Dürer and His Influence. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 16-March 10, 1991).

Dürer’s Women: Images of Devotion and Desire. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 28, 2014).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Life of the Virgin

The Death of the Virgin

Albrecht Dürer

Location

Description