After Albrecht Dürer "Knight, Death And The Devil" Engraving On Van Gelder Laid Paper

After Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) "Knight, Death, and the Devil", re-strike engraving on Van Gelder laid paper.

"Knight, Death And The Devil" is considered amongst Durer's "Meisterstiche" or master engravings. The engraving draws inspiration in virtue. The work can be considered as a "depiction of the ‘Christian Knight’ on an address from Erasmus's Instructions for the Christian Soldier (Enchiridion militis Christiani), published in 1504: 'In order that you may not be deterred from the path of virtue because it seems rough and dreary ... and because you must constantly fight three unfair enemies—the flesh, the devil, and the world—this third rule shall be proposed to you: all of those spooks and phantoms which come upon you as if you were in the very gorges of Hades must be deemed for naught after the example of Virgil's Aeneas ... Look not behind thee.’”
Dürer's knight rider is exceptionally engraved with intricate detail. The knight is presented upon his steed in immense detail as a heroic warrior.

Interestingly, Dürer' knight also resembles Italian Renaissance representations stylistically, displaying his awareness of similar representations made by Italians in Italy during the Renaissance period.
In "Knight, Death And The Devil", Dürer's knight appears to stride stoically past the figure of Death with confidence. The image of Death is equally horrifying as it is ornately engraved. Dürer depicts Death as appearing to hold an hourglass alluding to brevity of life and mortality.

Dürer’s work is exceptional. The work is one of Albrecht Dürer’s masterpieces. Only rivaled by Italian artists during the Renaissance period.

The work is well inked and richly detailed.

Another interesting piece of this masterwork is it featured Dürer’s creative monogram. Albrecht Dürer was like other Renaissance artists in a variety of ways. It could be said of Dürer, in addition to being a master engraver, he was a master marketer as well. His streamlined monogram would have been recognizable to the masses and therefore appealing, as mass printing did not yet exist. His monogram coupled with his talent and style are what make Dürer a pillar in the history of art.
Signed by monogram and dated 1513 in plate, lower left.

Watermarked Van Gelder can be see on verso and in lot images.

Provenance: The estate of a lady, Greenwich, CT

Dimensions:
9 5/8" H x 7 3/8" W, laid paper
19 3/4" H x 16" W, frame

About the Artist:
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist who developed his career early on by producing high quality woodcut prints. He mastered the use of a burin, an engraving tool also utilized by his father for goldsmithing. His social circle included the likes of Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo da Vinci. Dürer was one of the first European landscape artists, with his introduction of classical and nude motifs pioneering the Northern Renaissance.

Additional hi-res photos are available at www.blackrockgalleries.com

On verso there are old remnants of tape residue pulling at the laid paper, very slight spot marks near corners. Frame not wired to hang but overall in good condition and presents astoundingly well.