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Coat-of-Arms of Vanitas

Print
1503 (engraved)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Engraving by Albrecht Dürer, ‘Coat-of-Arms with a Skull’ or ‘Coat-of-Arms of Vanitas’; 1503, German. Inscribed with artist’s monogram at bottom centre and dated. A coat of arms bearing a skull is surmounted by a helmet mounted with a pair of magnificent wings and fluttering ribbons or acanthus foliage. At left, a young woman in ornate dress and headdress is caressed by a cloven-hooved, bearded incarnation of the devil.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Coat-of-Arms of Vanitas (generic title)
  • Coat-of-Arms with a Skull (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraving on paper
Brief description
'Coat-of-Arms with a Skull' or 'Coat-of-Arms of Vanitas', engraving, Albrecht Dürer, Germany, 1503
Physical description
Engraving by Albrecht Dürer, ‘Coat-of-Arms with a Skull’ or ‘Coat-of-Arms of Vanitas’; 1503, German. Inscribed with artist’s monogram at bottom centre and dated. A coat of arms bearing a skull is surmounted by a helmet mounted with a pair of magnificent wings and fluttering ribbons or acanthus foliage. At left, a young woman in ornate dress and headdress is caressed by a cloven-hooved, bearded incarnation of the devil.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.8cm
  • Width: 15.7cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'AD' (Artist's monogram at centre bottom)
Subjects depicted
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • Strauss, Walter L., ed. The Illustrated Bartsch 10 (Commentary): Sixteenth Century German Artists, Albrecht Dürer. New York: Abaris Books, 1980. 328 p., ill. ISBN 089835000X. pp.223-224.
  • Dodgson, C. The Masters of Engraving and Etching: Albrecht Dürer, London and Boston, 1926. 36.
  • Heller, Joseph. Das Leben und die Werke Albrecht Dürer. Bamberg: 1827. Vols. 2 & 3 (vol. 1 was not published). 1022.
  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog: Ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna, 1932. 98.
  • Panofsky, Erwin. Albrecht Dürer. Princeton 1943. (Addenda in the editions of 1945 and 1948). 208.
  • Strauss, W.L. The Intaglio Prints of Albrecht Dürer . New York, 1977. 40.
  • Hollstein, F.W.H. German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, c.1400-1700. Volume VII. Amsterdam: M. Hertzberger, 1954-. 98 (Meder a)
  • Rowlands, J.K. The Graphic Work of Albrecht Dürer: An Exhibition of his Prints and Drawings in Commemmoration of the Quincentenary of his Birth. London: British Museum, 1971. Exhibition catalogue. 89.
  • Schoch, R., M. Mende and A. Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer. Das Druckgraphische Werk. Band I: Kupferstiche, Eisenradierungen und Kaltnadelblätter. Munich, London, New York, 2001. 37.
  • Bartrum, Guilia, ed. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy - The Graphic Work of a Renaissance Artist / with contributions by Günter Grass, Joseph L. Koerner and Ute Kuhlemann. London: The British Museum Press, 2002. 320 p., ill. ISBN 0714126330. No.83, p.148.
  • Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. Volume I, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955 (4th edn). p.83.
  • Tietze, Hans and Erika Tietze-Conrat. Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke Albrecht Dürers. Vol. 1, Augsburg 1928; vol.2, Basel and Leipzig 1937; vol.3, Basel and Leipzig, 1938. 211.
Other number
B.101 - Le Peintre-Graveur
Collection
Accession number
E.596-1940

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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