The Virgin with the Dragonfly

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An original Albrecht Dürer engraving.

1495

Original engraving printed in black ink on thin laid paper.

Signed in the plate with the artist’s monogram lower center.

A dark, rich 16th century/lifetime Meder “b” (of k) impression, still showing traces of the six parallel scratches to the right of the head (these scratches disappear in subsequent states), with strong contrasts throughout.

Catalog: Bartsch 44; Dodgson 4; Panofsky 151; Meder 42.b; Strauss 4; Schoch/ Mende/Scherbaum 2.

Together with “A Young Woman Attacked by Death” (B. 92), this engraving is one of the earliest that Dürer produced when he opened his workshop in 1495 after his return to Nuremberg from Italy. Schongauer remains an important source of inspiration: the motif of the Holy Spirit shown here above is commonly seen in Schongauer’s prints. A further source of influence for the composition and, in particular, the somewhat sketchy treatment of the faces is the “Holy Family with a Rose Bush” by the Master of the Housebook (Lehrs 27), whose unusual drypoints had a considerable impact on Dürer’s early work.