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The Cook and His Wife

Print
ca.1496 (engraved)
Artist/Maker
Durer (artist)
Place of origin
Nuremberg (engraved)

Engraving by Albrecht Dürer, 'The Cook and His Wife'; ca. 1496, German. Inscribed with artist's monogram. Illustration of the tale of the cook and his wife from Geoffrey de la Tour Landry's 'Der Ritter vom Turn'. A well-fleshed cook, holding the accoutrements of his trade, stands with his wife, who gives a sidelong glance at the viewer. Between them, a magpie whispers into the cook's ears, whose head is turned towards the bird and his expression registering surprise.


Object details

Category
Prints
Object type
Print
TitleThe Cook and His Wife (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraving on paper
Paper
Printing Ink
Engraving
Brief description
The Cook and his Wife by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528); engraving
Physical description
Engraving by Albrecht Dürer, 'The Cook and His Wife'; ca. 1496, German. Inscribed with artist's monogram. Illustration of the tale of the cook and his wife from Geoffrey de la Tour Landry's 'Der Ritter vom Turn'. A well-fleshed cook, holding the accoutrements of his trade, stands with his wife, who gives a sidelong glance at the viewer. Between them, a magpie whispers into the cook's ears, whose head is turned towards the bird and his expression registering surprise.
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 10.9cm
  • Plate width: 7.8cm
  • Paper height: 11.2cm
  • Paper width: 8.1cm
Style
Renaissance
Marks and inscriptions
'AD' (Artist's monogram at bottom centre)
Subjects depicted
Cooks
Wives
Spouses
Married Couples
Magpies
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.187-189.
  • Heller, Joseph. Das Leben und die Werke Albrecht Dürer. Bamberg: 1827. Vols. 2 & 3 (vol. 1 was not published). 963.
  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog: Ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna, 1932. 85.
  • Dodgson, C. The Masters of Engraving and Etching: Albrecht Dürer, London and Boston, 1926. 17.
  • 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. 184.
  • Panofsky, Erwin. The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer. Volume I, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955 (4th edn). Volume II, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945 (2nd edn). 191.
Other number
B.84 - Le Peintre-Graveur
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
29266

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O976578/the-cook-and-his-wife-print-durer/
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