Updated 02 December 2022
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Philipp Melanchton
Date | 1526 |
---|---|
Materials and Techniques | engraving |
Size(cm) | 17.3 x 12.8 |
State | 1st |
Inscriptions | Verso, collectoer's mark: BI |
Standard ref. | Bartsch 105; Meder 104c; Hollstein 104; Schoch I 101 |
Category | Prints |
Collection Number | G.1971-0007 |
This is one of the last engravings made by Dürer, a leading painter and engraver of the German Renaissance. The model, whose prominent forehead is imposing, is Philip Melanchthon. Melanchthon was in his thirtieth year when this portrait was engraved. He was so talented that, already at age 21, he was invited to become a professor of Greek at the university. He was a close friend of Luther and supported the Reformation. Following Luther's Reformation, the city of Nuremberg became Protestant and invited Melanchthon to advise them on the reorganization of the educational system and the foundation of a gymnasium. The Latin inscription reads, "Although Dürer was able to vividly describe Philip's features, not even a skillful hand was capable of capturing his spirit." (Source: The Degital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by the NMWA, 1972.
Exhibition History
- 1997
- Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 12 April 1997 - 18 May 1997, cat. no. 53
- 2009
- Iconomorphosis: Selected Graphics from the NMWA Collection, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 July 2009 - 16 August 2009, cat. no. 22
- 2016
- Lucas Cranach the Elder: 500 Years of the Power of Temptation, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 15 October 2016 - 15 January 2017, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, 28 January-16 April, cat. no. 87, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1803
- Bartsch, A. von. Le Peintre-Graveur. 21vols, Wien, 1803-1821 , no. 105
- 1971
- Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog: ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. New York, 1971 (Da Capo Press Series in Graphic Art, vol. 12), no. 104c
- 1973
- Bulletin Annuel du Musée National d’Art Occidental. No.6 (1971), 1973, Nouvelles acquisitions (catalogue). pp.10-11, repr.