i 
 
The Publication Committee of the GroHer Club 
 certifies that this copy is one of an edition of four 
 hundred copies printed from type on Holland paper 
 in the month of February, 1897. 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive 
 in 2014 
 
 littps://arcliive.org/details/clironologicalcatOOkoeli 
 
DURER'S 
 ENGRAVINGS, DRY-POINTS, 
 AND ETCHINGS. 
 
A CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ENGRAVINGS, DRY-POINTS 
 AND ETCHINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 9i\btvt Btirer 
 
 AS EXHIBITED AT THE GROLIER CLUB 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 S. R. KOEHLER 
 
 THE GROLIER CLUB OF NEW YORK 
 
 MDCCCXCVII 
 
Copyright, 1897, by the Grolier Club. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. The Meaning of Diirer's Work i 
 
 II. The Chronology of Diirer's Engravings ix 
 
 III. The Influence of the Antique an^of Italian Art on 
 
 Diirer xx 
 
 IV. Was Diirer a Copyist? xxiii 
 
 V. Did Durer Invent Etching? xxiv 
 
 VI. The Technical Processes employed by Durer . . . xxvi 
 
 VII. The Printing of Diirer's Plates xxxviii 
 
 VIII. Diirer's Price-list xlii 
 
 IX. The Scope and Value of the Present Exhibition . . xliv 
 
 Biographical Illustrations xlix 
 
 Durer's Engravings, Dry-Points, and Etchings .... ■ i 
 
 Engravings attributed to Durer, either Doubtful or 
 
 Spurious 89 
 
 Supplementary Illustrations 94 
 
 Finding List 97 
 
 List of Books and Papers Consulted 99 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS' 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 The Genesis of Durer's Adam. (No. 34) 40 
 
 Apollo and Diana. (No. 36) 42 
 
 St. Veronica with the Sudarium. (No. 62) 53 
 
 St. Jerome by the Willow Tree. (No. 65) 55 
 
 The Holy Family. (No. 66) 56 
 
 The Small Crucifixion. (Nos. 88a, 88b, 88c, enlarged) . . 75 
 
 The Great Courier (No. 103) • 89 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. The Meaning of Durer's Work. 
 
 Of all the artists whose names are in everybody's mouth, Diirer is the 
 one least understood. Max Allihn is quite right when he says of some 
 of his compositions that they "may be fittingly likened to the sphinx of 
 the old legend, for they attack every one who, either as critic or his- 
 torian, or harmless wanderer, enters the realm of art, and propose to 
 him their insolvable riddles." And if the truth were told, it would be 
 found that all so attacked were vanquished, and that they ought to be 
 counted among the dead. 
 
 The difficulties which beset the Diirer student are manifold, and of a 
 peculiar kind. Rembrandt, who always comes up in the mind as Durer's 
 rival in the fascination which he exercises upon those who venture within 
 the reach of his influence, repulses at first by his apparent ugliness, and 
 to the specialist in prints brings many a sore trial through the Protean 
 shapes which his plates assume in the way of "states," but as to the 
 subject matter of his compositions, it is as easily understood as the con- 
 versation of a neighbor of to-day. The truth is that Rembrandt is thor- 
 oughly modern, and utters his homely but heartfelt sentences in simple 
 speech, which only gains from what there still adheres to it of an anti- 
 quated flavor. As to his genesis and the reason for his being and ap- 
 pearing just where and as he did, these also are perfectly clear, and can 
 be deduced logically from the conditions which preceded and surrounded 
 him. With Diirer, on the other hand, all this is different. He does not, 
 indeed, trouble us with "states," for among all his authenticated works of 
 
 i 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 importance there is only one, the "Adam and Eve," of which two states, 
 properly so called, are known, nor does he shock us with apparently 
 vulgar ugliness, however far removed his creations may be from the Ital- 
 ian ideal of beauty as we admire it in Raphael. But when we come to 
 inquire into the course of his development, and seek to understand the 
 influences which assisted in the shaping of his mind, we are at once con- 
 fronted by serious obstacles, and our troubles increase as we enter upon 
 the task of the interpretation of his works. It seems as if it were more 
 difficult even to understand Dtirer than the older artists still farther re- 
 moved from us, not only in time, but also in feeling. And therein we 
 may possibly find a first clue to the nature of our troubles. These 
 older men were of the same metal throughout, and thus present a unity 
 which, although foreign to us, we may hope to understand by contrast. 
 Rembrandt, on the other hand, is thoroughly modern, — cast in the 
 same mold in which we were cast,— arid we understand him, therefore 
 by similarity. Diirer, however, is neither the one nor the other, or 
 rather, he is both. We think we have divined his innermost thoughts 
 by approaching him from the side of the Middle Ages, when, lo and be- 
 hold, we suddenly find ourselves face to face with an idea with which the 
 Middle Ages had nothing to do; and we are equally vanquished if we 
 look at him from a modern point of view. It is this, precisely, that 
 makes him so thoroughly typical of his age, which was racked and con- 
 fused by conflicting desires : the love of, and inability to get away from, 
 old ideals ; an undefined longing for the new out of which the modern 
 world was to rise ; and the vain hope that by returning to the dead past, 
 as embodied in the Rome of antiquity, the two might be reconciled and 
 enjoyed together. Diirer himself has given very characteristic literary 
 embodiment to the crude, illogical thinking of the Renaissance in one of 
 his drafts for an introduction to his book on the proportions of the hu- 
 man body, still preserved in the British Museum. Having expressed 
 his regret at the loss of the " noble books " of the ancients on kindred 
 subjects, which, he opines, may have been suppressed and utterly de- 
 
 ii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stroyed in the beginning of the Church, from hatred of idolatry, he con- 
 tinues: "Should it be as I conjecture, and had I been present at the 
 time, I would have said : O you dear holy sirs and fathers, do not, for 
 the sake of the bad, thus pitiably kill the nobly invented art, which has 
 been brought together by such great trouble and labor. For art is 
 great, weighty, and good, and we will convert it with great honors to 
 the praise of God. For in the same way as they applied the most beau- 
 tiful figure of a man to their idol Apollo, thus we will take the same 
 measurement for Christ, the Lord, who is the most beautiful of all the 
 world. And as they have used Venus as the most beautiful woman, thus 
 will we chastely devote the same graceful figure to the most pure Virgin, 
 the Mother of God. And of Hercules we will make Samson ; the same 
 will we do with all the others. " (Lange und Fuhse, p. 316.) Bearing 
 in mind this condition of things, we may hope, if not fully to understand, 
 at least correctly to appreciate, Diirer's works. For it is precisely the 
 illogical, and therefore enigmatical, character of the time of struggle and 
 transformation in which he lived that takes form in them and makes 
 them representative. To hope to reduce such half-felt, half-reasoned 
 productions to the clearness of a problem in mathematics is in vain, and 
 all attempts in that direction have, therefore, been fruitless. 
 
 But the difficulties which the age in general interposes are measurably 
 increased in Diirer's case by his nationality. He was a German, or, more 
 broadly speaking, a Northerner. To the limitations which bound all the 
 intellects of his time there were added those which inhered in his race. 
 However the spirit of classical antiquity might be misunderstood on the 
 other side of the Alps, the favored son of the South had at least retained 
 through all the vicissitudes of the Dark Ages an instinctive feeling of 
 form and refinement which his Northern brother had never possessed. 
 One needs only to compare a naughty story told by Boccaccio with a 
 similar tale told by Chaucer, to understand this difference between the 
 North and the South. The former throws around it all the allurements 
 of refined outward beauty, and thus increases the force of the poison a 
 
 iii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 thousandfold ; the other presents his subject in all its native repulsive- 
 ness, and thus robs it of much of its baleful influence. And the same 
 holds good of pictorial art. The Apollos and Venuses, the Theseuses 
 and Ariadnes of the old Florentine engravers grouped together under 
 the mythical firm name of Botticelli-Baldini, however far they may be 
 removed from the creations of a Phidias or even of his late Graeco- 
 Roman followers, are still, as compared with their congeners on the 
 northern side of the mountains, triumphant examples of grace and 
 beauty, and in so far at least make good their claim to be direct descen- 
 dants of antique ancestors. To understand this, it suffices to place side 
 by side with the Italian engravings alluded to such a plate as that of 
 " The Judgment of Paris," by the Master of the Banderoles (reproduced 
 in Lehrs' " Der Meister mit den Bandrollen," Dresden, 1886). The 
 Italian works named belong to a period which, it is hardly necessary to 
 say, preceded the time of Diirer's activity by nearly half a century. But, 
 all advances in the intermediate years conceded, the relative positions of 
 the North and the South nevertheless remained about the same. Of an 
 age and a country which did not hesitate, in sober earnest and by the 
 mouth of one of its most learned men, to proclaim Maximilian's "Arch 
 of Honor" (woodcut, B 138) the counterpart of an antique Roman 
 triumphal arch, and which represented Truth, in the attempted recon- 
 struction of the " Calumny " of Apelles, by a woman richly attired in 
 sixteenth-century costume, with a big feather hat, and carrying a flaming 
 face, — the sun, — on a fruit-dish (see Diirer's sketch in Thausing, II, 
 opp. p. 162), we must not demand that it should distinguish to a nicety 
 between the Roman Fortuna and the Greek Nemesis. 
 
 To these racial difficulties, however, there must, finally, be added, in 
 the case of Diirer, still others which arise out of the individuality of the 
 artist himself. With Faust, he also might have sighed that two souls 
 dwelt within his breast: one, that of the scientific investigator, the man 
 of facts, the reasoner, — the other, that of the artist, burning with a con- 
 stant yearning for the visual embodiment of his longings, which in- 
 
 iv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eluded ever evasive visions of beauty. It was the conflict between 
 these two tendencies, and the endeavor to reconcile them, which still 
 further helped to mar Diirer's art. Over and over again he repeats, 
 in the many drafts for passages in his theoretical works which he left 
 behind, that the artist is full of figures inside, which he would not 
 have time enough to draw if he were to live a hundred years or 
 more ; and quite as often he warns the young artist that the truth is 
 in Nature. "Therefore," he says (L. u. F., p. 226), "look at it dili- 
 gently, be guided by it, and do not depart from Nature in thy pre- 
 sumption, thinking that thou thyself mightest find something better; 
 for thou wilt be misled." As to Beauty, he quite agrees with Ra- 
 phael: "But what Beauty may be, that I know not" (L. u. F., p. 288). 
 While, however, Raphael was content to follow his artistic instinct, Diirer 
 thirsted for knowledge. " For I know," he writes (L. u. F., p. 239), — 
 and again he formulates the same idea over and over, — "that the desire 
 of mankind may be so satiated of earthly things by their surfeit that one 
 becomes weary of them; only excepted to know much, — of that no one 
 wearies." So that, while he is convinced that we may not know what 
 Beauty is, he yet believes also that "Art is hidden in Nature; whoso- 
 ever can tear it out has it" (L. u. F., p. 226). And htuce it is his 
 never-tiring endeavor to find the key that will unlock the secret of 
 Beauty in the human form, and will put him into the possession of the 
 ideal measurements, according to which may be constructed a perfect 
 body. It is the old vain struggle after the absolute, leading at last to 
 disenchantment, if it does not lead to intellectual death, — and Diirer was 
 no exception. In spite of the fact that he was just engaged in seeing his 
 book on proportions through the press when death overtook him, he 
 acknowledged to his friend Pirkheimer that only late towards the even- 
 ing of life had he learned to esteem at its true value the simplicity of 
 nature, and there is no denying that his speculative labors exerted a 
 deadening influence on his art. Moved by these conflicting impulses, 
 we see him, almost from the very beginning of his career, draw ugly 
 
 V 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 naturalistic figures, like those of " The Four Naked Women" (No. 14 of 
 this catalogue) and of the " Nemesis " (No. 33), simultaneously with 
 others of quite a different kind, — the Venus in "The Dream" (No. 15), 
 for instance, and the figures of Adam and Eve in the celebrated plate of 
 the year 1 504 (No. 34), which are the outcome of his speculations and 
 his striving after the absolute. A similar difference we may note in his 
 landscape work, although in this, curiously enough, he confines his real- 
 ism to the studies made for himself Such sketches, for example, as 
 those in the Print Cabinet, at Berlin (Lippmann, No. 14), and in the 
 British Museum, at London (Lippmann, No. 219), would be admitted to 
 any exhibition of " impressionist " art of to-day. But when he utilized 
 his sketches, he so conventionalized them that, on the unaided testi- 
 mony of the landscape backgrounds to be seen in the works destined for 
 the public, and more especially in his engravings, no one would ever 
 think of attributing all these things to the same hand. 
 
 Nevertheless, however difficult it may be to understand, not only the 
 subject matter, but even the outward form of Diirer's work, it would 
 never do, in a fit of ultra-agnosticism, to content ourselves with an ad- 
 mission of ignorance, and to give up all endeavor in despair. Although 
 we may be ready to acknowledge that there are certain things which we 
 cannot know, we yet feel it necessary to give play to our faculties, and 
 to ascertain what we may know, and in spite of the rebuffs suffered by 
 some, there will always be others ready to ask whether it is really utterly 
 impossible to lift the veil. The answer is apparently simple. We may 
 hope to comprehend these works, so far as their matter is concerned, by 
 studying them within their time ; that is to say, by seeking for the gen- 
 eral causes to which they owe their existence. It is the " kulturhisto- 
 rische Deutung," — the explanation from the point of view of the historian 
 of civilization, — which alone promises to furnish the key so long sought. 
 That all other ways have led to nothing is evident. It is surprising to 
 see the stupid ingenuity or the ingenious stupidity which has been dis- 
 played in attempts to explain some of Diirer's prints merely upon the 
 
 vi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 outward evidence of the subjects themselves. On the other hand, 
 the subjective method, — that method which questions the works as to the 
 effect produced upon the individual observer, and then, from this effect, 
 deduces the causes which must have moved the artist, — has proved 
 equally abortive. Nor yet will the life history alone of the artist pro- 
 vide a sufficient explanation, although it claims a decided share in the 
 evidence to be cpnsidered. Into what strange aberrations such a one- 
 sided method of proceeding may lead is plainly shown by the interpre- 
 tations based upon the unfortunate relations which for a long time were 
 supposed to have existed between Diirer and his wife, and upon which 
 recent researches have thrown at least a milder light, even if they should 
 not have proved them to be wholly without foundation (see " Diirer's 
 Wife," among the " Biographical Illustrations," p. Ivii, etc.). It follows from 
 all this that the historical method remains as the only one to be followed, 
 however much such an essay as Allihn's " Diirer Studien " may tend to 
 make us shun it, in view of the paucity of results attained as compared 
 with the vast amount of learning expended. It does, indeed, seem as if 
 the past, quite as much as the future, were to us a book with seven seals. 
 But the attempts to open it will never cease, and the sooner we resign 
 ourselves to the conviction that intuition or the divine furor of the poet 
 will not help us to break the seals, but that, if they are to be broken at 
 all, nothing but downright hard work will do it, the better it will be for 
 us. The notes given in the catalogue of Diirer's engravings which fol- 
 lows are principally designed, so far as opportunities and the limits of a 
 catalogue will allow, to supply some hints to those who may wish to see 
 what has so far been done towards the interpretation of Diirer's works 
 by the writers who have made him their special subject of study. 
 
 Noting all these limitations, and listening to all these "ifs" and 
 "buts," what, it may be asked, is there left, then, to explain Diirer's 
 fame and the value universally set upon his works ? There is probably 
 no other artist who is so freely criticized as Diirer by even his most 
 ardent admirers. That he really was not a painter in the modern sense of 
 
 vii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the word is all but universally admitted, — that he rarely, if ever, attained 
 Beauty ; that most of his compositions are next to impossible to under- 
 stand ; and, Vorse than all, that much of his engraving, which is that part 
 of his work by which he is most widely known, is commonplace and has 
 the flavor of market ware, being redeemed only by careful and consci- 
 entious workmanship, — all these points are equally conceded. And yet, 
 ask whomsoever you please to name to you the six greatest artists of the 
 past, and Diirer is sure to be amongst them, and if you cut the number 
 down to three, the answer will probably be, — certainly would have 
 been, say twenty-five years ago, — Raphael, Diirer, and Rembrandt. 
 Here is another enigma, seemingly the greatest of them all. To the 
 real student of Diirer, however, — to him who knows the story of his aspi- 
 rations and his struggles, — this apparent enigma is not insolvable. The 
 story of Diirer's life is a sad one, and it expresses itself in his art. The 
 man " full of figures inside " ; the true artist to whom the greatest need 
 of life was to give form to that which was in him ; the spirit that yearned 
 for the truth and longed to see ideal beauty, — living in the sixteenth 
 century in a burgher community like Nuremberg, at the commencement 
 of the Reformation, which tended rather to lead men away from than to- 
 wards art; compelled to work for markets and fairs, where his wares were 
 exposed to the gaze and the criticism of peasants and lansquenets, and 
 others of like ilk, together with " Lebkuchen " and nuts and even less 
 esthetic things, — what an anomaly ! And, moreover, hampered in him- 
 self by the racial shortcomings, intensified by those of the individual, 
 discussed above ! It is truly an elevating spectacle to see so much 
 achieved under such terrible limitations, and our hearts go out in pity 
 towards the man who bravely carries on the unequal struggle, so that 
 we are ready to sympathize with him, even in his defeats. 
 
 If, however, Diirer had no other claim on the public in general, the 
 argument just advanced might be open to the charge of begging the 
 question, and the universal estimation in which he is held would still be 
 unexplained. We shall, therefore, have to continue our questioning, and 
 
 viii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the answer received is this : It is a patent fact that most of Diirer's de- 
 signs, — and this is more especially true of his engravings, — exercise 
 a strong fascination over the beholder, even while they are not in the 
 least understood, — a welcome assurance that the admiration expressed 
 by those who have not taken the pains to study them is not all mere 
 lip service. It is precisely their enigmatical character which proves to 
 be their strength, and this enigmatical character, again, is due, in the 
 sense now under consideration, to the curious mixture of allegory and 
 realism, of vague idea and definite form, which characterizes them and 
 invests them with the charm of a vivid dream. There is such intense 
 outward life in them that it seems almost impossible not to be able to 
 comprehend them; and yet their meaning is so hidden to us, or so in- 
 tangible in itself, that it evades us at the very moment when we hope to 
 grasp it. It is the lack of this contrast between intangible essence and 
 tangible form that makes all later allegory so distasteful. In it, wrongly 
 so-called idealized forms, — that is to say, forms out of which all individ- 
 uality has been generalized, — are united with unpictorial ideas, and the 
 result is an unutterable insipidity from which Diirer's realism happily 
 saves him. We must not forget, however, that this fascinating incon- 
 gruity is not of Diirer's intending, and we must be careful, therefore, not 
 to impute wrong motives to him. But in this unconsciousness, again, 
 lies part of the fascination of his work, — a fascination which it shares 
 with much of the work of the primitive Italians, — it is naive. There is 
 incongruity, also, in much of the most modern art, but it is conscious, — it 
 is not naive, — wherefore it betrays itself as spurious, and is condemned. 
 
 II. The Chronology of Durer's Engravings. 
 
 Our human sympathies, if nothing else, would suffice to explain why 
 we are not satisfied with a general knowledge of the works of an artist 
 whom we admire, but desire also to make his personal acquaintance, and 
 2 ix 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to follow him in his development. To be able to do this, it is necessary 
 to arrange the works of the artist in question in chronological sequence. 
 If it had not been for this, there would have been no occasion whatever 
 for the present attempt to make a new catalogue of Diirer's engravings. 
 It would have sufficed to reprint Bartsch's catalogue, which has so well 
 stood the test of time that, out of the lo8 prints listed by him, 102 
 (Nos. 1-102 of this catalogue) are still by almost common consent ac- 
 cepted as being the work of Diirer, while those which later writers have 
 endeavored to add (see Nos. 109-12 of this catalogue) have been as 
 unanimously rejected. It is evident, therefore, that this time-honored 
 authority has not been departed from because of disrespect. Bartsch 
 has lately been attacked most unjustly. Sir Francis Seymour Haden 
 has attributed a " barbarous and base origin " to what he calls " the 
 Bartschian classification" (see "The Etched Work of Rembrandt." 
 London: Macmillan & Co., 1895, p. 3), and although he refers more 
 especially to Bartsch's Rembrandt catalogue, it is manifest that this harsh 
 criticism affects all of Bartsch's lists. The accusation rests on a misun- 
 derstanding. Bartsch's catalogues are finding lists, and as such invalu- 
 able, and quite unreplaceable by chronological catalogues. The world, 
 or at least that comparatively small part of it which cares for engrav- 
 ing and its history, owes a heavy debt of gratitude to Bartsch for the 
 masterly manner in which he brought order out of chaos and made of 
 a hideous mass of disjointed fragments an organized body. He erred, 
 to be sure, and, being in most cases a pioneer, he did not know every- 
 thing; but it would be the height of absurdity to bring criminal charges 
 against him for these reasons, however necessary it may be to criticize 
 and to correct him. Without such finding lists as Bartsch's no public 
 print cabinet, no private collector, no dealer in prints could get along. 
 Bartsch, therefore, upon whose shoulders stand all who work in the same 
 field, deserves honor rather than obloquy. 
 
 Finding lists, moreover, may be definite and universally accepted, 
 which chronological lists, in the very nature of things, never can be, 
 
 X 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 since they will have to be remodeled continually with the growth of 
 knowledge, and must always be influenced by subjective considerations. 
 In the arrangement of the present catalogue and exhibition, either one of 
 at least three chronological lists might have been followed : — Von Ret- 
 berg's, published at Munich in the year 1871 ; the catalogue of the Diirer 
 Exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston, in the year 1888 
 (compiled by the author of the present catalogue), and the Rev. Charles 
 H. Middleton -Wake's list, according to which the Diirers in the Fitz- 
 william Museum, at Cambridge (England), are arranged. It was found 
 advisable, however, to disregard all of these catalogues, and even the se- 
 quence now adopted was decided upon only after still another had been 
 laid out and rejected. It will be seen, therefore, that the author has been 
 quite as critical with himself as with others, and he does not hesitate to 
 say that, after another ten years of occupation with Durer's engravings, 
 it is more than likely that he would again discard his present classifi- 
 cation. Concerning Von Retberg's list, it may be said that it is inad- 
 missible, because he occasionally allows his judgment to be misled by 
 mere outward considerations which carry no weight whatever. Mr. Mid- 
 dleton's list, aside from differences of opinion arising in the case of indi- 
 vidual prints, seems to suffer from too great positiveness. No artist's 
 work can be classed according to ironclad rules which subject him to an 
 inviolable law of progress, and deprive him of the possibility of going 
 back to earlier methods, or taking up again a tentative effort which he 
 may have abandoned for the time being. The present writer confesses 
 that he despairs of ever being able to arrive at the knowledge which 
 would make it possible for him to tell whether Durer's "St. Ann and the 
 Virgin" (No. 25 of this catalogue) was executed in " 1498 or early in 
 1499," and he confesses still further, that he holds such knowledge un- 
 necessary. If we can succeed in arranging an artist's work into fairly 
 correct groups, following one another in tolerably reliable chronological 
 order, we shall have attained all that is needed. It would be well to 
 bear in mind in such cases the modest avowal made by Dr. Lippmann in 
 
 xi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the preface to the second volume of the Diirer drawings edited by him. 
 Not only does he point out the frequent " shifting of the art-historical 
 point of view " in such matters, but he frankly confesses that his own 
 views have already changed in regard to some of the drawings admitted 
 to the first volume. The cautiousness here applied to drawings is quite 
 as applicable to prints or to anything else. 
 
 In the case of Diirer, the difficulties to be overcome seem, at first 
 sight, to be of the slightest, for out of the 102 plates universally accepted 
 as his only 37 are undated, and out of these 3 can be dated approxi- 
 mately and tolerably closely, on the strength of external evidence. 
 In the arrangement here adopted 13 undated plates precede "The Four 
 Naked Women " (No. 14), with the date of 1497, the earliest date to be 
 found on Diirer's plates. Then follow 14 more of the undated plates, 
 until we come to the year 1503, which appears on "The Virgin Nursing 
 the Child" (No. 29) and the " Coat-of-Arms with the Skull" (No. 30). 
 Between the years 1 504 and 1508, 7 of the undated plates have been 
 intercalated, leaving only 3 to dispose of, which, as above remarked, are 
 approximately datable on external evidence. 
 
 The plates really to be dealt with, therefore, are 34 in number, and 
 for the ordering of the earliest of these (excluding "The Ravisher," No. 
 I, which has no mark of any kind), the monogram upon them can be 
 relied on to a certain extent. Diirer not only took evident pride in his 
 monogram, but it must be borne in mind also that it was, not figura- 
 tively, but absolutely speaking, his trademark. When, in the year 15 12, 
 he complained to the city council of Nuremberg that copies of his en- 
 gravings were offered for sale, the copyists were ordered to take his 
 mark off their copies, on pain of confiscation ! No copyright law existed 
 in those times, except in the way of obtaining a "privilege," which Diirer 
 did, for instance, for his " Life of the Virgin " and " Small Passion " on 
 wood. As soon, therefore, as he launched out for himself, he began to 
 develop his monogram, which quickly reached its well-known form. 
 (See Thausing, I, p. 344, 2d ed.) 
 
 xii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The earliest marks found on the drawings of the young Diirer are not 
 really monograms. They consist of the initials of his name placed along- 
 side of one another, the very earliest being that on the " Madonna and 
 Angels" (Lippmann, No. i), of the year 1485 : 
 
 X 4 
 
 a capital A, pointed at the top, with a small d beside it. Two signa- 
 tures of the year 1489, on the other hand, "The Cavalcade" (Lipp- 
 mann, No. 100) and "The Three Lansquenets" (Lippmann, No. 2), 
 offer two capitals placed alongside of one another, and on the second- 
 named drawing the A is not even pointed, but rather spreading at the 
 top. It is barely possible that these initials are later additions by Diirer 
 himself, as we know of other drawings that he placed his monogram 
 upon them years after they had been done. The " Orpheus " drawing 
 (Lippmann, No. 159; see Supplementary Illustrations, No. VI), of the 
 year 1494, again has the small d: 
 
 and the same combination is seen on the " Bacchanal " and " The Battle 
 of the Tritons," after Mantegna (in the Albertina), both also of 1494, 
 while a similar, but rather curious signature : 
 
 1 p J 
 
 is found on a drawing belonging to the year following, a child, copied 
 from Lorenzo di Credi (reproduced by Ephrussi, opp. p. 36). On " The 
 Women's Bath" (Lippmann, No. loi), dated 1496, the two capitals 
 again appear, the A, however, quite pointed; and in the year 1497, 
 
 xiii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 finally, on the " Angel playing the Lute " (Lippmann, No. 73), we meet 
 for the first time on a drawing the monogram as subsequently adhered to : 
 
 that is to say, the D inclosed in the A, and this latter spreading at the 
 top. To the same year belongs the first dated engraved plate, which 
 also has a similar monogram. 
 
 Turning, now, to the engravings, we may construct from them an 
 evolutionary series, as follows : 
 
 A 7^ K "M^ 
 
 12345 6 7 
 
 No. I of this series is taken from "The Holy Family with the Dragon- 
 fly " (No. 2 of this catalogue) ; No. 2 from " The Five Footsoldiers and 
 a Mounted Turk" (No. 3) ; No. 3 from "The Offer of Love " (No. 4); No. 
 4 from "The Prodigal " (No. 5) ; and No. 5 from "St. Jerome in Pen- 
 ance " (No. 6). Omitting several intermediate stages, which show the 
 gradual spreading of the A, we arrive at the first dated plate, " The 
 Four Naked Women " (No. 14), of the year 1497, from which Fig. 6 is 
 taken. The large monogram. No. 7, finally, is copied from one of the 
 woodcuts of the " Apocalypse," which we know to have been published 
 in the year 1498. If we compare with Nos. 6 and 7 the monogram. Fig. 
 8, from the "Erasmus," dated 1526 (No. 102 of this catalogue), which is 
 
 8 
 
 xiv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the last engraved by Diirer, we recognize at once with what fideUty he 
 adhered throughout his life to the form adopted in early manhood. (All 
 but the last of the monograms here given were photo-engraved from 
 unsatisfactory tracings, — the one of 1495 from the reduction in Ephrussi. 
 They will do, however, to show the form of the letters, which is all that 
 is needed.) 
 
 It is apparent from the initials and monograms which we have been 
 able to examine, that, according to the evidence furnished by them, 
 Diirer's earliest mark consists of a very pointed A with a small d along- 
 side of it, and that the monogram, in its final form, does not appear, 
 in connection with a date, upon either drawing or engraving, before the 
 year 1497. After that date it is steadily adhered to, not, however, to 
 the absolute exclusion of slight variations, which occasionally show a 
 return to a more pointed form of the A, as, for instance, on the " Apollo 
 and Diana " (No. 36 of this catalogue). As none of the engravings are 
 marked with the initials, — the A and d or D placed alongside of one 
 another, — the conclusion would seem to be justified that none of them 
 (with the exception of " The Ravisher," No. i, which has neither initials 
 nor monogram) can be earlier than 1495 or 1496, and that " The Holy 
 Family with the Dragon-fly" (No. 2), which still shows the small d, 
 although enclosed within the A, cannot be later. And this date corre- 
 sponds approximately to the time when Diirer settled down permanently 
 in Nuremberg, and established a household, with probably a " shop," of 
 his own. "And as I went away in the 1490 year after Easter," he writes 
 in his family chronicle (L. u. F., p. 8), " thereupon I came back when 
 they counted 1494 after Pentecost. And when I had come home again 
 Hans Frey bargained with my father, and gave me his daughter, named 
 Jungfrau Agnes, and gave me with her 200 fl. and celebrated the wed- 
 ding, that was on Monday before St. Margaret's day [July 7] in the 
 1494 year." 
 
 It may be objected, of course, and with perfect truth, that the evidence 
 offered by monograms is of purely external character, and hence, that 
 
 XV 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 too much weight must not be attached to it. Nor has it been admitted 
 here to any great extent, except for the prints of the first period, the 
 workmanship of which undoubtedly points to the same time. As to 
 Diirer's workmanship in general, an examination of his prints will show 
 that, with increasing command over the burin, he not only strove for 
 greater regularity of line, but that he developed also the coloristic possi- 
 bilities of engraving ; that is to say, he endeavored, by variety of texture, 
 which results from difference in treatment, direction, and combination of 
 lines and dots, to suggest a feeling of color. He was in this a forerunner 
 of the engravers of the Rubens school, who are usually credited with 
 being the first colorists with the burin. As these efforts, however, are 
 more especially noticeable in the dated engravings, and will be pointed 
 out in the discussion of the individual plates, they need not here be dwelt 
 upon. It will be sufficient to name as especially characteristic examples, 
 which may help to make the matter clearer to the student by way of 
 contrast, "The Virgin and Child with the Monkey" (No. 13 of this cata- 
 logue) and "The Virgin sitting by a Wall" (No. 75), — the former a fine 
 specimen of pure black-and-white work, the latter the most developed 
 example of coloristic engraving in Diirer's mivre. It may be stated, 
 also, that towards the close of his life he returned again to simpler 
 methods. 
 
 But in spite of all the aids invoked, the sequence of the undated plates 
 will always remain a subject for discussion. Plates 1-6, as here arranged, 
 offer no difficulty, so far as workmanship is concerned. No. 2, " The 
 Holy Family with the Dragon-fly," stands apart as regards the design, 
 in consequence, no doubt, of the influence of Schongauer which is appar- 
 ent in it, although others, as, for instance, Springer, detect Italian influ- 
 ences in it. With Nos. 7-10 it is different. The set character of the 
 lining of the flesh in No. 7, "The Penance of St. John Chrysostom," 
 would seem to point to a later time, but the general conception is 
 rather archaic, and the shape of the monogram supports this conclu- 
 sion. The beautiful little Madonna, No. 8, stands quite apart in Diirer's 
 
 xvi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 work, and the contrast between it and No. 9, " The Little Fortune," 
 is positively jarring, while in No. 10, "The Little Courier," there is 
 an apparently irreconcilable contradiction between the skilled although 
 simple workmanship and the very archaic conception. In assigning 
 positions to these plates, some influence has been allowed to the char- 
 acter of the monogram. The most serious difficulty, however, is caused 
 by the undoubtedly most beautiful of Diirer's early plates, and, it might 
 perhaps be truthfully said, the most satisfactory of all his Madonnas, 
 "The Virgin and Child with the Monkey," No. 13. It is quite impos- 
 sible to find a fitting place for it, and the one finally chosen, on the 
 evidence of the workmanship and the character of the monogram, brings 
 it into most uncongenial company. It would indeed harmonize better 
 with the surroundings if it were placed immediately after No. 6, " St. 
 Jerome in Penance," but that is inadmissible. The anomalous character 
 of this plate has also been recognized by other writers. Springer (" Zeit- 
 schrift fiir bildende Kunst," 1877, p. 7) says of it that it completely 
 " drops out of the line " of Diirer's other Madonnas. It is this difficulty 
 which leads him to conjecture that the composition is not by Diirer, 
 but was copied by him from some older original. (See below: IV. 
 Was Diirer a Copyist ?) 
 
 It may appear odd, also, to see the larger plates, Nos. 14-17, all deal- 
 ing with the nude and evidently influenced by Italy or the antique, 
 grouped together, to be followed immediately by quite a series of small 
 plates, all dealing either with religious subjects or with events of 
 Diirer's own time. This sudden break is, however, quite natural. We 
 know that Diirer was deeply interested, even as a very young man, 
 not only in the problem of the human figure, but also in antiquity ; 
 and we know, furthermore, that he was one of those dreamy yet ardent 
 natures which are capable of quite losing themselves in a favorite 
 pursuit, to the forgetting of everything else about them. We can 
 imagine, therefore, how he gave himself up to what his wife merely 
 considered his hobby, and how Frau Agnes, seeing her stores diminish 
 3 xvii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and no profit in view, grew more and more restless, until finally she said 
 to the dreamer, — with a bitter ring in her speech, according to the 
 gospel of Pirkheimer ; with the voice of an angel, according to that of 
 Thausing, — " Have n't you wasted enough time and copper and money 
 on your naked women and your old heathen goddesses ? No one will 
 buy them ! And now the fair is almost upon us, and if I am to keep a 
 booth there, or if you want me to go to Frankfort the coming Easter, 
 what am I to take with me ? Why don't you engrave something for 
 good Christian folk, — some Madonnas and Saints, so that I may have 
 something new to show, — and something that people want? You know 
 what the pedlar said who was here the other day. He went away with- 
 out buying anything, — and what a good customer he used to be ! And 
 besides the saints, there are the Turks and the peasants, about whom 
 everybody is talking nowadays. They would sell, too ! " So what 
 could poor Albert do, — for he knew his Hausfrau was right, — but pack 
 away his naked women and his heathen gods and goddesses, and go at 
 the saints and the peasants and the Turks, — even if he did it with a 
 sigh ? And thus we have an at least plausible explanation for the sud- 
 den change which evidently came over the spirit of Diirer's dreams at 
 this time. 
 
 The difficulties here discussed are only a few of the leading ones. 
 Others have been pointed out in the catalogue itself That the chrono- 
 logical arrangement has not been absolutely adhered to for the dated 
 plates, — the two series, "The Passion on Copper" and "The Apostles," 
 having been kept together, — will need no apology. 
 
 It goes without saying, also, that a chronological arrangement is in- 
 dispensable if the works of an artist are to be studied with reference to 
 the progress of his life in general, outward as well as inner. Diirer's 
 printed works are, indeed, far from having the autobiographical char- 
 acter of those of Rembrandt, his own personality being suppressed in 
 them altogether, but they nevertheless conspicuously mark the events 
 of his life, which was more varied than Rembrandt's. In this respect, 
 
 xviii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 however, the present exhibition is deficient, as it comprises only Diirer's 
 work on metal, to the exclusion of the woodcuts, of which there are 
 about twice as many. When both are examined together, it is easily 
 recognized how curiously two lines of thought struggle for the mastery 
 over the artist immediately after his return from his early travels, — the 
 one showing him to us apparently bent entirely upon the acquisition of 
 knowledge, and finding expression in such studies of the nude as the 
 "Four Naked Women" (No. 14) and "The Dream" (No. 15), with the 
 " Adam and Eve " (No. 34) as its crowning triumph, all engraved by 
 himself on copper ; the other, and finally, in the course of his life, the 
 conquering one, leading him on to the formulation of his religious con- 
 victions, through the medium of the woodcut as the more popular 
 method of communication with the mass of his countrymen, in such 
 series as the " Apocalypse," published in the year 1498, — contempo- 
 raneously, that is to say, with the studies just alluded to. We would 
 find, furthermore, that the enigmatical compositions like the " Hercules " 
 (No. 17 of this catalogue) are almost wholly confined to the work on 
 metal done in his earlier years, while among the woodcuts there is really 
 only one of a similar character, hkewise called "Hercules" (B 127), and 
 also a work of earlier days. We would be able, again, to trace his early 
 connection with the humanists; we would note the extended activity 
 which he displayed when at the height of his powers, in the service of 
 the Emperor Maximilian, and the position which he made for himself 
 among the scientific men of his time; we would recognize, — as, indeed, 
 we may do also in this exhibition, — the portraits of the celebrated 
 friends and patrons who remained true to him until the last ; and we 
 would finally see him, at the close of his life, giving to the world the 
 result of those theoretical studies which, to his help or to his hindrance, 
 he had followed so assiduously throughout his career. Still more in- 
 teresting, however, than these reflections of outward events, — and to be 
 easily detected even in this partial collection of his works, — are the 
 signs of his inner development, which, in spite of the limitations of his 
 
 xix 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 nature and his environments, was steadily from the fantastic to the 
 humane, from bizarre variety to greater simpHcity, from whimsical con- 
 ceits and misunderstood antique subjects to portraits and the expression 
 of his own feelings and convictions. On the other hand, it needs no 
 chronological arrangement to convince us, upon the testimony of his 
 works, of the purity of his character, which ennobled also his art. 
 Diirer was vain, — there is no gainsaying that, — but his vanity was of a 
 gentle, so to speak, modest kind, which differed greatly from the vanity, 
 the vice of the time, to which his great and learned friends fell a prey, 
 at the head of them all the Emperor Maximilian, the last of the knights. 
 But of the coarseness of his age there is not a trace in all his authenti- 
 cated works, which is all the more remarkable as his activity as an en- 
 graver and publisher might easily have tempted him to pander to the 
 tastes of the multitude, upon which he was dependent. 
 
 Ill, The Influence of the Antique and of Italian Art 
 
 ON Durer. 
 
 An interesting factor in Diirer's artist life, — all the more interesting, 
 perhaps, because enveloped in uncertainty, and therefore only vaguely 
 traceable, — is the influence exercised on him by Italian art, and, either 
 directly or indirectly, by the antique. 
 
 That Diirer visited Italy twice is now accepted as a fact by most of 
 the writers who have occupied themselves with him, — the first time, 
 while he was wandering about the world as an obscure journeyman 
 painter, during the years 1490-94; the second time in 1506-07, when 
 his work had already begun to spread his fame abroad. Of the first 
 journey we have no definite knowledge, — only faint echoes of it here 
 and there in his work and a vague allusion in one of his letters. Con- 
 cerning his second journey we are fully informed, through the medium 
 of the letters written by him from Venice to his friend Pirkheimer. 
 But he did not come into contact with Italy through these journeys 
 
 XX 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 only. An undoubtedly great influence was exercised upon him, or at 
 least a directing impulse given to his studies, by Jacopo de' Barbari, 
 or Jacob Walch e., " Der Welsche," or " The Italian"), as he was called 
 in Germany, himself a somewhat mystical personage, in spite of the 
 critical labors expended upon him, more especially by Ephrussi. That 
 Jacopo visited Germany is a fact. But exactly when we do not know, 
 and it is equally unknown whether Diirer made his acquaintance in Nu- 
 remberg, either before or after his first Italian journey, or whether he 
 met him in Italy. Jacopo de' Barbari seems to have been the first to 
 direct the young Diirer's attention towards the study of the proportions 
 of the human body, but having excited his thirst for knowledge, he 
 refused to allay it, either from ill will or from incompetency. Possibly 
 he was one of those men of whom Diirer in later years warned young 
 artists to beware, — men who talk about things they cannot do. It is 
 certain that Jacopo's art, as we know it from his engravings, betrays a 
 weakly conventional rather than a scientific draftsman. Diirer, speak- 
 ing of his early desire to know what others had written on the subject of 
 proportion, makes mention of him as follows (L. u. F., p. 340): "How- 
 ever, as I find no one who has described anything, except one man, was 
 named Jacobus, was a good, sweet painter, born in Venice, he showed 
 me man and woman, which he had made from measurements, and 
 although I took to mind the idea, how such things might be brought 
 about, yet I could not obtain from him his reason, how he used his art, 
 and although I was at that time still young, nevertheless I took the thing 
 to heart, took up Vitruvius, he writes a little of the members of a man. 
 Thus from the two named above, I searched for it out of my own reso- 
 lution." And again he writes (L. u. F., p. 343): " For this before men- 
 tioned Jacobus would not clearly show me his reason, that I well per- 
 ceived in him. But I took the thing up for myself and read Vitruvius, 
 he describes a little of the members of a man." And in another place 
 (L. u. F., p. 342) he says that he would have given a new kingdom for 
 Jacob's knowledge. This was written in 1523, but although Diifer here 
 
 xxi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 calls Jacopo a " good sweet painter," recalling the impressions he had 
 received from him in his youth, there was a time when he esteemed him 
 differently. Writing to Pirkheimer from Venice in 1506, he says: "I 
 let you know also, that here there are much better painters than Master 
 Jacob is out there. But Anthony Kolb [for whom Jacopo had designed 
 the large view of Venice published in 1500, a really very clever work] 
 swears an oath, there lived no better painter on earth than Jacob. The 
 others scoff at him, say : ' If he were good he would stay here.' " (L. u. 
 F., p. 22.) Nevertheless, he thought better of him again in 1521. In 
 the diary of his journey to the Netherlands (L. u. F., p. 170), Diirer 
 notes that in the possession of the Lady Margaret, the governess of the 
 Netherlands, in whose service Jacopo de' Barbari had died, he saw a 
 number of good things, some of them by Jacob Walch. " I begged my 
 lady to give me Master Jacob's little book [probably a sketch-book], but 
 she said she had promised it to her painter." 
 
 These details are given here because the influence of Jacopo de' 
 Barbari is repeatedly alluded to in the notes of the catalogue, and 
 reproductions of a number of his engravings will be found among the 
 Supplementary Illustrations. 
 
 Jacopo de' Barbari, however, was not the only Italian artist who in- 
 fluenced the young Diirer, although with no other does he seem to have 
 come into such close contact. That he appreciated and studied Man- 
 tegna is apparent from the pen copies in the Albertina, Vienna, which 
 he made from some of his engravings. (See also under No. 34 of the 
 catalogue.) It is very curious to note how in these copies he trans- 
 lated the straight-line shading system of the ItaHan into the curved line 
 more familiar to himself. An interesting series of copies by Diirer, in 
 the British Museum, London, from some of the so-called " Tarocchi," 
 has been reproduced by Lippmann (Nos. 211-18). 
 
 Concerning the influence of the antique, and its meaning not only for 
 Diirer, but for the Northern nations in general, see especially the remarks 
 under No. 34, " Adam and Eve." 
 
 xxii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It may seem cause for wonder that Diirer, with the ardent admiration 
 which he evidently had for Italy and the antique, and with his longing 
 for formal Beauty, did not succumb to these influences, like the later 
 artists of Germany and of the Netherlands. But he was too strong a 
 man for that, he had too much of a personality of his own, and so, in- 
 stead of a weakly imitator, he became a great artist, in spite of all his 
 limitations. 
 
 IV. Was Durer a Copyist? 
 
 The story of Diirer's life has unfortunately been burdened with a 
 number of questions, which are either of themselves of little or no impor- 
 tance, or which have been or can be definitely answered in the negative, 
 but which, once having been raised, must necessarily be alluded to when- 
 ever his work is spoken of. Among these is the question as to the 
 originality of a number of Diirer's earlier engraved plates : — Are the 
 compositions represented in these plates his own, or did he merely copy 
 them from some older artist ? The plates in dispute are the following 
 nine, here given with the numbers and in the order of this catalogue : 
 
 lo. The Little Courier. 
 
 12. The Promenade. 
 
 13. The Virgin and Child with the Monkey. 
 
 14. The Four Naked Women. 
 
 15. The Dream. 
 
 16. The Rape of Amymone. 
 
 17. Hercules. 
 
 22. The Cook and his Wife. 
 
 27. The Lady and the Lansquenet. 
 
 Of these nine plates versions exist by an engraver who signs with a 
 W. (See No. 14^ .) Thausing endeavored to show that this engraver 
 was Wolgemut, Diirer's teacher, and that his plates were the originals, 
 while those bearing Diirer's monogram were copied from them. He 
 
 xxiii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 allowed, however, that the compositions of those of the plates in ques- 
 tion which showed the influence of the antique or of Italy were based 
 on studies or drawings by Diirer, as the spirit which they breathe 
 is entirely foreign to Wolgemut. Colvin and Harck adopted Thausing's 
 conclusions, and Springer also declared Diirer's engravings to be copies, — 
 with this difference, however, that he substituted Jacopo de' Barbari 
 (known as Jacob Walch in Germany, as already stated, whence the W) 
 for Wolgemut as the author of those compositions which, like the 
 " Hercules," betray the influence of Italian art. The question cannot be 
 discussed here in detail. Those interested in it may consult the authors 
 named, as advocates of the copyist theory, while on the other side Lehrs 
 must be heard. (See List of Books for titles.) The argument of the 
 writer last named, that Wenzel von Olmiitz is the author of the W prints, 
 and that they are copies from Diirer, would seem to be conclusive, the 
 most convincing fact being this, that nearly all of the copies of the same 
 subjects, by still other engravers, can be shown to be based upon Diirer's 
 versions, and not upon W's. 
 
 V. Did DiiRER Invent Etching ? 
 
 The claim that Diirer invented etching is another of those disturbing 
 elements needlessly introduced into the history of his life and work, 
 alluded to at the beginning of the preceding paragraph. Thausing's 
 attempt to substantiate this claim, — not, indeed, a new one, — would 
 hardly need to be considered, if the authority enjoyed by his in so many 
 ways admirable book had not led other writers on Diirer to follow him 
 unquestioningly. Harzen, in his excellent essay on the invention of 
 etching (in Naumann's " Archiv," 1859), has, indeed, settled the question 
 conclusively ; but Thausing brushes him aside contemptuously, and even 
 states positively that he is wrong in ascribing the invention of the art to 
 the armorers, who used etching for the decoration of arms and armor 
 
 xxiv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 long before the process was employed by painters and engravers for the 
 production of printable plates. He adds, on the authority of unnamed 
 connoisseurs, that no armor decorated with etching is known which can 
 be dated before 1520. In view of this state of things, it will be well to 
 give, as concisely as possible, the leading dates and facts involved. They 
 are as follows : 
 
 Recipes for etching on iron are found in manuscripts of the fifteenth 
 century. (Harzen.) 
 
 A number of short swords, with etched ornamentation, still preserved 
 at Bologna, must have been made between 1488 and 1506. (Harzen.) 
 
 The sword of Caesar Borgia, known as " the Queen of Swords," with 
 rich etched ornamentation, the work of Hercules de' Fideli, was made 
 between 1494 and 1498. (Yriarte.) 
 
 A sword in the Historical Museum at Dresden, also richly etched, and 
 bearing the device of Barbara Gonzaga, who married Count Eberhard 
 " im Bart" of Wiirtemberg in the year 1474, is with great probability 
 attributed to about that period by Mr. Max von Ehrenthal, the director 
 of the museum in question. 
 
 The same museum owns also parts of a beautifully etched suit of 
 armor, which Mr. von Ehrenthal is inclined to attribute to Hercules de' 
 Fideli, and which, judging from the style of the figure compositions on 
 it, must certainly be of Italian origin and of about the end of the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 Harzen has shown conclusively, although by circumstantial evidence, 
 that the Hopfers, of Augsburg, produced printing-plates etched on iron, 
 at least as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century, if not earlier. 
 
 The earliest dated etching so far known, of the year 1513, "A Girl 
 Washing her Foot," is by Urs Graf. A reproduction of this etching has 
 lately been made at the Government Printing Ofiice in Berlin. 
 
 Diirer's earliest dated etchings are of the year 1515, two years later 
 than Graf's plate. 
 
 In justice to Thausing, however, it must be stated, that he could 
 
 4 XXV 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 hardly have known about the work of Hercules de' Fideli, and that Grafs 
 etching, although mentioned by Eduard His as far back as 1873 (see 
 " Jahrbiicher fur Kunstwissenschaft," VI, p. 146, No. 8), attracted no at- 
 tention until lately. 
 
 It may be well to add that the " etchings " which have been attributed 
 to the Master W with the sign somewhat resembling a key, to Wenzel 
 von Olmiitz, and to Hans Baldung Grien, are engravings. 
 
 A curious reference to " Scheidwasser " (aquafortis, nitric acid) is 
 found in one of Diirer's rhymes, " Von der bosen Welt," e., " Of the 
 Wicked World " (L. u. F., p. 85) : 
 
 Wer bei Bosen wohnt unverletzt, 
 Den kein Scheidwasser nit fretzt, 
 
 (who lives unharmed with bad people will not be bitten by aquafortis). 
 The familiar way in which "Scheidwasser" is here used in a simile 
 shows that it must have been well known not only to Diirer, but also to 
 those to whom he addressed himself, at the time when these rhymes 
 were written, which, it would seem, cannot have been later than 15 10. 
 Nevertheless it is usually accepted as a fact that the making of nitric 
 acid, and consequently the knowledge of its properties, was a secret 
 known only to a few at the time in question, and that it was not gener- 
 ally introduced before the thirties of the sixteenth century. (Lippmann, 
 " Kupferstich," p. 49.) But however this may be, the dates above given 
 are not affected by it. 
 
 VI. The Technical Processes employed by Durer. 
 
 Diirer made designs for wood-cutting, and himself produced printable 
 plates on metal by engraving, by dry-pointing, and by etching. Of dry- 
 points there are four: "St. Veronica with the Sudarium," dated 15 10 
 (No. 62 of this catalogue) ; " The Man of Sorrows with Hands Tied," 
 
 xxvi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dated 15 12 (No. 64) ; "St. Jerome by the Willow Tree," also dated 1512 
 (No. 65) ; and " The Holy Family," undated (No. 66). Of etchings 
 there are six: "The Man of Sorrows seated," dated 15 15 (No. 81); 
 " Christ in the Garden," of the same year (No. 82) ; " The Sudarium dis- 
 played by one Angel," dated 15 16 (No. 83); "The Rape of a Young 
 Woman," of the same year (No. 84); "The Man in Despair," undated 
 (No. 85) ; and "The Cannon," dated 15 18 (No. 89). All the rest of his 
 plates are pure graver work. 
 
 The dry-point plates would offer no difficulty whatever, if Bartsch had 
 not been curiously loose in his statements about them, — a fact all the 
 more to be wondered at as he was himself a very skilled engraver, — 
 and if Thausing had not beclouded the matter still further by groundless 
 technical speculations. Bartsch speaks of three of these plates as "grave 
 a leau-forte sur une planche de fer," i. e., engraved with acid on an iron 
 plate. Only one of them, the " St. Veronica," he describes as a dry- 
 point. Naturally enough he was followed in this by any number of 
 writers, most of whom are content to sail in the wake of " authority," 
 although Von Retberg and Hausmann long ago pointed out the true 
 nature of these plates. Thausing (II, p. 69, 2d ed.), originally misled, 
 perhaps, by Bartsch's statement, declares them to be etched plates, i. e., 
 plates bitten with acid, which Diirer was compelled to work over with 
 the dry-point, because he did not know how to manage the acid, and 
 therefore underbit them. The fallacy of the argument is obvious, but in 
 order to be able to make this clear, it will be necessary to consider the 
 technic of dry-pointing, and as this technic has never as yet been cor- 
 rectly illustrated, such a discussion will be of special interest to those 
 who care for these matters. It need hardly be said that "dry-pointing" 
 is neither more nor less than scratching on a bare metal plate with a 
 sharp metal point. In etching, a point is also used, but its office in this 
 case is to remove the " ground," that is to say, the thin coating of wax, 
 etc., which protects the plate, and the lines thus laid bare are then bitten 
 in, or, in other words, hollowed out in the plate, by the corrosive action 
 
 xxvii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of a mordant or acid. Etching, therefore, involves the use of a fluid, 
 and hence is a wet process. Scratching with a point on the bare plate, 
 on the contrary, with sufficient force to produce a furrow does not in- 
 volve the use of a fluid. Hence it is a dry process, and as the instrument 
 used is a point, it is called "dry-pointing." It is usually stated that the 
 point, in plowing through the plate, throws up a ridge of copper, which 
 it turns up alongside of the furrow, as the plowshare turns up the earth 
 while cutting the furrow in the ground. This is not, however, strictly 
 correct. In the first place, the dry-point cannot be compared to the 
 plowshare, as it is not pushed through the copper, but is held like a 
 pencil, and is drawn over the copper. The action of the plowshare is, 
 indeed, that of the graver, which is pushed, and throws the copper out 
 of the furrow produced. The point, however, does not remove the cop- 
 per, nor does it turn it up alongside of the furrow, — it merely raises it 
 
 over the furrow on one side of the point (see Fig. i), while on the other 
 side the pressure produces a very slight ridge. The metal projection 
 thus raised above the surface of the plate is called the bur. Generally 
 speaking, the edge of this bur is jagged, as shown in Fig. 2. It goes 
 without saying that the character of the bur depends on the angle 
 which the point forms with the surface of the plate. These statements 
 are the result of careful investigations made by the writer in preparation 
 for a course of lectures delivered before the Lowell Institute, at Boston, 
 some years ago. It is this projecting bur which catches the ink and 
 prevents the clean wiping of the plate, thus producing the rich velvety 
 effect so highly prized by the dry-pointer. By partly scraping the bur, 
 
 xxviii 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that is to say, by reducing its height, its ink-catching capacity may be 
 reduced, and by removing it entirely this capacity may be destroyed 
 altogether, leaving only the furrow, — the incised line, — which will then 
 print the same as any other incised line, simply producing a well-defined 
 black mark. The wearing of the plate, which gradually reduces and 
 finally obliterates the bur altogether, has the same effect as scraping. 
 Impressions from a worn dry-point plate, therefore, show none of the 
 velvety effects produced by such a plate in good condition. This is very 
 well illustrated by the dry-points in different states here exhibited (see 
 Nos. 65 and 66). We are now in a position to gage Thausing's theory, 
 according to which Diirer first etched these plates, producing lines that 
 were too shallow, and that he then entered these lines with the dry- 
 point, to increase their printing qualities. As the action of the point in 
 
 3 
 
 the line would have raised a ridge of bur in the line (see Fig. 3), it is 
 evident that such a proceeding would have filled the line, instead of 
 deepening it, and the effect would have been the very reverse of that 
 sought, that is to say, the ink-carrying capacity of the line would have 
 been reduced, instead of being increased. On the other hand, if the 
 lines had been so shallow as to have no perceptible ink-holding capacity, 
 in which case the bur might have risen above them, no artist would 
 have thought of entering these useless lines with the point, painfully 
 following one after the other. In the endeavor thus to save a spoiled 
 plate all the freedom of dry-point work would have been lost, and it 
 would have been much better to take a fresh plate, and begin anew. 
 
 That the plates now under consideration are dry-points admits of 
 no doubt. There is a peculiarity in impressions from dry-point plates 
 which, if discoverable, can always be relied upon, and which was first 
 
 xxix 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 pointed out by the present writer in the introduction to the catalogue 
 of the Diirer exhibition held in Boston in the year 1888. The bur 
 thrown up by the point projects above the surface of the copper, so that, 
 in a dry-point plate in good condition and with the bur unscraped, 
 there are two kinds of lines, the sunken lines or furrows which hold the 
 ink below the surface of the plate, and the raised, relief lines of the bur, 
 which hold it upon the surface. If the printer wipes with sufficient force, 
 and the bur lines are not too minute, the ink is removed from the back 
 of the bur. The result in the impression is a series of embossed black 
 lines, produced by the furrows in the plate, accompanied by a series of 
 very fine white lines, pressed into the paper, caused by the relief lines 
 of the bur. The plate may have been so wiped that the back of the 
 bur is still covered with ink, in which case no white lines are seen. But 
 wherever the depressed white lines appear alongside of the embossed 
 black lines, the existence of dry-point work is proven. In the mag- 
 nificent impression of "The Holy Family" here shown (see No. 66^) 
 careful inspection will disclose some of these sunken white lines, and in 
 the impression from the original plate of the " St. Jerome by the Willow 
 Tree" (No. 65^) even the jagged outline of the bur can easily be seen 
 in the strong dry-pointing of the monogram. It may be well to add 
 that "dry-point work" is here used in its broadest sense, that is to say, 
 any process which, by the use of some suitable instrument, produces a 
 bur capable of catching the ink. 
 
 That Diirer should have dry-pointed only these four plates, and then 
 abandoned the process in disgust, is no cause for wonder. All these 
 things have their philosophy. Diirer had no care for chiaroscuro, and, 
 therefore, really had no use for dry-pointing. It needed the advent of 
 Rembrandt, the great chiaroscurist, to produce the first really great dry- 
 pointer. The " Master of 1480 " or " of the Amsterdam Cabinet," in spite 
 of the many dry-points which he produced, does not gainsay this asser- 
 tion. In the first place, he is an isolated phenomenon ; and in the second 
 place, he used the dry-point merely as a handy substitute for the graver, 
 
 XXX 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with no thought whatever of the effects of Hght and shade which it is 
 capable of producing. 
 
 Diirer's six etched plates need not detain us long. Their technical 
 character is sufficiently manifest, and we know from ocular demonstra- 
 tion that, like the plates of the Hopfers, they were etched on iron (see 
 under No. 82). Again, it is not to be wondered at that Diirer did not 
 take kindly to the process. Great investigator that he was, it was quite 
 natural that he should try all the processes he heard of, and, com- 
 pelled as he was to work for the market, it was equally natural that 
 he should not be averse to labor-saving devices. He, therefore, gave 
 etching a somewhat more extended trial than dry-pointing, and he tried 
 it in various directions: — for religious representations, like "The Suda- 
 rium displayed by one Angel," etc. (see Nos. 81-83), for the enigmatical 
 nude pseudo-classical " Rape of a Young Woman " (No. 84), and finally 
 and very characteristically, after a couple of years' interval, for a popular 
 subject appealing to the interests of the day, " The Cannon " (No. 89). 
 He had' evidently gaged it for what it really was to the many artisan- 
 artists who used it in the sixteenth century, — a cheap substitute for 
 engraving. Hence he used it once more in 15 18 for "The Cannon," 
 which, without doubt, he wished to bring out quickly, so as to turn to 
 profit the momentary interest aroused by this great " dog of war," and 
 then he threw it aside for ever. His care was for subject and for careful 
 elaboration, and for these purposes the graver was the far more congenial 
 instrument. It needed the development of the individualistic spirit, 
 with Rembrandt again as the leader, to make of etching a great art, — 
 the exponent of individualism among all the multiplying arts. 
 
 Up to the time of the appearance of Thausing's book, it would have 
 been quite unnecessary to consider the technical character of Diirer's 
 engravings. They were acknowledged to be pure works of the burin, 
 and as such they had never been questioned. 
 
 In the laudable endeavor to heap honor upon his hero, Thausing 
 attempts to make Diirer not only the inventor of etching, but also of 
 
 xxxi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 forwarding by etching, that is to saj-, the process of first biting-in the 
 lines of a plate, or of certain parts of a plate, and then finishing the work 
 with the graver, — a process which is generally said to have been first 
 practised by the engravers of the Rubens school, and which is to-day 
 almost universally used by engravers. We have seen that Thausing tried 
 to make out of Diirer's dry-point plates etchings gone over with the 
 dry-point. Having thus failed in his attempt to work with acid on 
 copper, Thausing goes on to say, Diirer began, about 15 14, to etch on 
 iron, and, succeeding in this, he " found in etching a welcome means of 
 reducing the labor and securing the perfection of engraving on copper " 
 (2d German ed., II, p. 70). This, we are told, explains why there is a 
 total change of character in Diirer's engravings from the year 15 14. His 
 older plates yield brilliant black impressions. "This still holds good of 
 the plates of 15 13, the ' Madonna by the Tree,' B 35 (No. 67 of this cata- 
 logue), of the 'Sudarium held by two Angels,' B 25 (No. 68), and of 
 the celebrated ' Rider ' or ' The Knight, Death, and the Devil,' B 98 
 (No. 69). It is only the later engravings by Diirer which show the 
 peculiar, more uniform, fainter tone, that delicate, silver-gray garb, 
 which gives them such a distinguished appearance. The 'Madonna 
 sitting near the Wall of a City,' B 40 (No. 75), forms, as it would seem, 
 the transition to the new technic. The treatment of this plate is 
 unequal, and shows, especially in the flesh parts of the child and the 
 head of Mary, the sharper, blacker burin lines of the older plates. It 
 takes its position, therefore, close by the border line of the two methods. 
 On the other hand, the ' Virgin with short Hair, upon the Crescent,' B 
 33 (No. 74), and all the other six coppers of the year 15 14, including 
 such important pieces as the ' Melancholy ' (No. 70) and the ' St. 
 Jerome in the Chamber' (No. 71), belong to the new group. This 
 suddenly appearing difierence presupposes a method differing in prin- 
 ciple. . . . From the evidence at hand, I can explain this difference only 
 by the sharper edges of the burin line, as against the porous limits of 
 the etched line. It would appear, therefore, that Diirer gave up etching 
 
 xxxii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 upon copper only in so far as he blended it with his burin work. The 
 dry-point had shown itself insufficient ; he therefore subordinated it to 
 the well-tried burin. He secured to the latter the preponderance, con- 
 tenting himself with a very slight preparatory etching of his engravings, 
 with a view to trimming them line for line and completing them with 
 the graver. Even so the laborious work of the burin would receive con- 
 siderable help, and a method would thus be established which has been 
 practised for centuries. Compare, for instance . . . B 3 1 (No. 44) . . . 
 and B 32 (No. 86), . . . and the great contrast in their general tone 
 will be apparent at first sight. But upon closer inspection evidence of 
 the traces of etching will also be found in the blunter, frayed lines of the 
 plate last named. Experienced collectors and dealers, therefore, have 
 long ago come to the conclusion that the faint gray impressions from 
 Diirer's later plates are preferable to the lush, blacker ones " (2d Germ, 
 ed., II, pp. 70-71). 
 
 It is significant that Thausing takes as his starting-point the " Madonna 
 sitting near the Wall of a City," B 40 (No. 75 of this catalogue). This 
 plate does hold a special place among Diirer's engravings, but for reasons 
 quite different from the one assigned by Thausing. It was pointed out 
 above that there is a progression noticeable in Diirer's work, from pure 
 black and white to a coloristic effect. As extreme types " The Virgin 
 and Child with the Monkey" (No. 13) and the plate just named were 
 cited. In the former there is almost absolute uniformity of treatment 
 (if we except a slight differentiation in the sleeve of the undergarment 
 of the Virgin, as seen on her left arm), in the latter the variety of tex- 
 ture has been carried farther than in any other plate ever engraved by 
 Diirer. The flesh is treated very simply, — almost wholly line, with but 
 little dotting ; in the garments of the Virgin at least three different tex- 
 tures are noticeable, — and let it be understood here that " texture " has 
 nothing to do with the way in which the drapery reflects the light or 
 breaks into folds, — in the sleeve of the under garment, in the fur- 
 trimmed wrapper, and in the satin-like scarf which covers the head, 
 5 xxxiii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 hangs down the back, and is thrown over the knee, and to these must 
 be added the variations in the arrangement and combination of Hnes 
 and dots in the foreground, the wall, and the distant landscape. Thaus- 
 ing evidently overlooked this peculiarity of the plate in question, but, 
 noticing a difference between it and other plates, sought for other rea- 
 sons. It will be sufficient to point out the contradictions in which he 
 involves himself and which are of a nature to destroy the force of his 
 argument. Diirer is supposed to have been led to the use of the dry- 
 point by some of the engravings of the Master of 1480, "the deHcate, 
 bloomy effect of which we must attribute principally to the dry-point " 
 (II, p. 63). But he starts out with etching, and only resorts to the point 
 after its failure. Again, we are told that the richness of these works is 
 best seen in the first impressions before the monogram, while evidently 
 the first impressions must be the barest of all, since the work of the point 
 came in only later. After an interval of four years he began to etch on 
 iron, which necessitates an entirely different treatment of the acid or 
 mordant than etching on copper, and having been successful in this, he 
 applied the process to copper again, but wisely abandoned the point, and 
 instead trimmed every line with the burin. Nevertheless, although the 
 action and the purpose of the burin would be to sharpen and clean the 
 work, and thus to remove the imperfections inherent in the etched line, 
 the traces of etching are still to be found " in the blunter, frayed lines " 
 produced by it. 
 
 The subject might be dropped here, if Thausing's contradictory 
 statements had not been adopted by later writers, one of whom, Mr. 
 Middleton, the author of the well-known Rembrandt catalogue, even goes 
 beyond him in the extent to which he would make etching a factor in the 
 execution of Diirer's engraved plates. Thus, Thausing expressly names 
 " The Sudarium held by Two Angels " (No. 68 of this catalogue) as 
 one of the plates illustrating his older method, while, according to Mr. 
 Middleton, it "was printed not from an engraved, but from an etched 
 plate — i.e., from a plate in which the design was both bitten in and 
 
 xxxiv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 completed with the acid." In the introductory note to his "Catalogue 
 of the Engraved Work of Albert Diirer" (p. 6), in accordance with 
 which, as before stated, Diirer's prints have been arranged in the Fitz- 
 william Museum at Cambridge (England), he summarizes his conclusions 
 as follows : 
 
 First. He [Diirer] takes up a process already practised, that of direct 
 engraving upon the copper, for the purpose of producing impressions upon 
 paper. 
 
 Second. He adopts from the armorers the process of etching ; and, 
 as a ready and effective method of producing the desired effect, he com- 
 pletes his work in "dry point." 
 
 Third. Finding that the plates so treated produced very few even 
 moderately fine impressions, he etches a plate in which the acid shall bite 
 so deeply that, to produce the effect he desires, no further tool work is 
 required. 
 
 Fourth. He varies the process, and now etches the plate lightly, and 
 after taking a few impressions — the " silvery-gray impressions " — deep- 
 ens the lines with the point. 
 
 Fifth. He etches upon iron or steel plates, but not finding the result 
 what he desired, he reverts to process 4. 
 
 No exception, as a matter of course, can be taken to paragraph I of 
 this statement. 
 
 Paragraph 2 finds its reply in what has been said in regard to dry- 
 pointing; the bur produced in the bitten line would diminish its ink- 
 holding capacity, instead of increasing it. 
 
 Paragraph 3 must be taken to apply to one plate only, the " Sudarium 
 
 XXXV 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 held by Two Angels," as " <2 plate " is spoken of in it, and as the plate 
 named is the only one of which Mr. Middleton declares unequivocally 
 that it "was both bitten in and completed with the acid" (see No. 70 of 
 Mr. Middleton's catalogue). If this expression is to be taken literally, it 
 involves the claim that Diirer knew the stopping-out process, the method 
 of laying a re-biting ground, or the reversed process, which begins by 
 etching the darkest parts first and then proceeds to the lighter, and so on 
 to the lightest; but there is no evidence whatever in the six undoubtedly 
 etched plates by Diirer that he was conversant with anything but flat 
 biting. Nor does the character of the lines in the plate in question point 
 to anything but the graver, in their steadiness, in their clean cutting, in 
 the manner of their beginning and ending. This may seem to be simply 
 the meeting of one assertion by another. It is most unfortunate that it 
 should be so. There is nothing left to those interested but to investigate 
 for themselves, and then to judge each assertion in the Hght of the infor- 
 mation obtained. 
 
 In paragraph 4 the statement is repeated that Durer " etches the 
 plate lightly" and then "deepens" the lines "with the point." These 
 plates, therefore, would differ in nothing from those described in para- 
 graph 2, and the objection raised there would hold good also here. It 
 is to be presumed, however, that "point" in this instance is merely a 
 misprint for " burin." Writing of "The Virgin seated by a Wall" (Mr. 
 Middleton's No. 71 ; No. 75 of this catalogue), he says: "The plate was 
 first lightly etched, and then the lines which should produce the darker 
 shading were deepened with the burin. In the latest impressions the 
 lines have all thus been re- worked." And again of the plate imme- 
 diately following, " The Virgin with Short Hair on a Crescent " (No. 74 
 of this catalogue) : " The earliest impressions taken from the lightly- 
 etched plate have the silvery-gray tone. . . . Later and darker im- 
 pressions were printed from the plate after it had been re-worked with 
 the burin." There are several objections to be made to these statements. 
 In the first place, the method of proceeding here outlined quite contra- 
 
 xxxvi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 diets the ways of Diirer, so far as we know them. The trial proofs from 
 the "Hercules" (No. 17) and from "Adam and Eve" (No. 34) show 
 that he did not carry on his plates as a ivhole, but that he finished one 
 part after another. It may be claimed, however, that he changed his 
 method in later years, and this conjecture does not involve an impossi- 
 bility. But if he executed some of his plates in at least three stages, as 
 it is averred of " The Virgin seated by a Wall," — first lightly etching it, 
 then strengthening the darker shading, and then re-working the whole 
 plate with the burin, — where, it is quite legitimate to ask, are the proofs 
 of these three distinctly different " states " ? Finally, as to the re-work- 
 ing of the whole surface of the plate with the burin, — a terrible under- 
 taking in plates of such delicate character, not at all to be compared 
 with the reentering of the lines, as practised by later engravers ! Mr. 
 Middleton himself, indeed, indirectly recognizes this difficulty. Writing 
 of "The Knight, Death, and the Devil " (No. 69 of his, as well as of the 
 present catalogue), he says : " It has been suggested that to conceal the 
 error [in one of the feet of the horse], he worked the plate over again, 
 hence the dark tone of the earlier \sic !'\ impressions. I cannot accede 
 to this supposition ; it would hardly have been possible to avoid leaving 
 some trace of such re-work, and yet no such trace can be discovered." 
 Is not, then, the question pertinent : Why are no such traces visible in 
 the other plates which are supposed to have been re-worked ? 
 As to paragraph 5, no remarks are needed. 
 
 Considering all these points, it is impossible to come to a conclusion 
 differing from the statement made at the outset: Of Diirer's plates on 
 metal, four are dry-points, six are etchings on iron, all the rest are pure 
 burin work. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that some of the impressions 
 from Diirer's plates are black, others silvery, while others again show 
 still different qualities. The explanation of these differences is found 
 in the varying methods of printing adopted and developed by Diirer 
 and his printers in the course of time. 
 
 xxxvii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 VII. The Printing of Durer's Plates. 
 
 The different methods of printing exempHfied by the impressions from 
 Durer's plates supply material for a most interesting chapter in the 
 history of printing, — a subject, so far as it applies to the treatment of 
 engraved plates, hitherto almost entirely neglected. This catalogue may 
 claim to be the first in which special attention is paid to it. The conclu- 
 sions arrived at are based on careful studies made in the Departement des 
 Estampes of the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, in the Print Room of the 
 British Museum at London, and in the Royal Print Cabinets at Dresden 
 and at Berlin. The notes there made have been tested by an examina- 
 tion of the Diirers in the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston (most of which 
 belong to the Gray Collection, the property of Harvard College), and of 
 the fine collection brought together for this exhibition. 
 
 Schongauer's plates are printed with an intensely black, strong ink, 
 which, being deposited on animal-sized e., glued) paper, assumes a 
 bright gloss in the heavy lines. Practically, they are clean wiped, that 
 is to say, all the ink is removed from the surface of the plate, so that 
 only the lines drawn by the engraver show black on a white, or at least 
 light ground. Wherever ink was left on the surface of the plate, between 
 the lines or on unworked parts, it was by accident. This is true also of 
 Durer's early plates. Beautiful examples of such clean-wiped impres- 
 sions are found in this exhibition in No. 7, "The Penance of St. John 
 Chrysostom," and No. 13% "The Virgin and Child with the Monkey." 
 In these impressions every line is clean and clear, and even in the most 
 closely worked parts (the darkest shadows) the minute points of copper 
 left standing between the crossing lines produce white points. Not all 
 impressions, however, were as successful. If the plate was not sufficiently 
 close-wiped, the lines were too full, and in the darkest parts they ran to- 
 gether, so that these parts formed black masses. The difference can very 
 well be studied in the four impressions of No. 32, " St. Eustace," of which 
 
 xxxviii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the darker impressions show this " filling." Impressions of this kind, if 
 otherwise clean wiped, present strong contrasts, and collectors are apt to 
 call them "brilliant." (Compare also No. ij*".) The ideal of old print- 
 ing evidently always was the " clean wipe," even in the darkest parts. 
 Whoever has tried his hand at printing knows, however, that the clean 
 wiping of a plate is not as easy a matter as it may seem to be. The first 
 attempts, — and not only the first attempts of amateur printers, — are sure 
 to be " smudged " impressions, — that is to say, impressions, which show 
 tinting or spots where the ink has not been removed from the surface of 
 the plate. Occasionally such an accident will happen also to a skilled 
 printer, and the accident may be a fortunate one. It is most likely to 
 happen in some part of the plate where the lines are tolerably close 
 together, producing a spot of richer color than the engraver intended. 
 Such presumably accidental smudging or tinting may be noticed in 
 No. 8% "The Virgin on the Crescent without Crown." As humanity, 
 however, learns by its misfortunes, its accidents, so did the printers. 
 It was easily seen that this smudging or tinting could be utilized to good 
 purpose, if it could only be brought under control, and the effort was 
 made, therefore, to produce consciously what at first was brought about 
 unconsciously. Such evidently conscious attempts at tinting are sup- 
 plied by No. 9, "The Little Fortune," and No. 33^ "Nemesis." But 
 the printers must soon have become convinced that, with the strong, 
 intensely black ink which they were in the habit of using, tinting under 
 control was quite a difficult thing, and they began, therefore, to experi- 
 ment with softer and warmer inks. A manifestly early attempt of this 
 kind is seen in No. 36, "Apollo and Diana," and later ones can easily 
 be found by the aid of the notes which accompany each print. For the 
 present purpose, it will be sufficient to call attention to No. 94, " The 
 Virgin crowned by one Angel," the two impressions of No. 95, "The 
 Virgin with the Child swaddled," and No. 96, " St. Christopher with 
 the head turned to the left." These impressions show "artificial" 
 printing in the sixteenth century in its highest development. 
 
 xxxix 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The change in the consistency and the color of the ink led, however, 
 to still other results. The effect produced was much more delicate, not 
 only because the ink was more delicate, but also because the lines were 
 apt to be somewhat more wiped out. And as, very probably, the two 
 kinds of printing were used simultaneously, and a plate was printed 
 sometimes in the old style and sometimes in the new, the existence 
 of impressions, quite different in effect from the same plate, is easily 
 explained : an impression printed in the old style, with strong black 
 ink, produces a black, heavier effect, another printed in a softer ink 
 produces what is usually called a " silvery " effect. It is not at all an 
 assured fact, therefore, that the "silvery" impressions are the earlier and 
 the black ones the later; it may be said, indeed, that the reverse is more 
 likely to be true. This is evidently so, for instance, in the case of im- 
 pressions Nos. 27^ and 27'', "The Lady and the Lansquenet." The first 
 is a very fine dark impression in pure black ink, the second is much 
 more delicate and silvery, but the fact that it shows slight and even 
 tinting in the saddle-cloth and on the ground to the left betrays it 
 as a later impression. It can be noticed also that in many cases the 
 lines in the black impressions have a rougher appearance than the 
 "silvery" ones. There is such an impression of No. 86, "The Virgin 
 on the Crescent, with Crown of Stars and Scepter," in the Gray Col- 
 lection, Boston: If the darker effect produced by it were due to the 
 reworking of the lines with the graver, the edges of the lines ought to be 
 sharper and cleaner than those of the lines in the silvery impressions, 
 whereas the contrary holds true. 
 
 The stages of development in the art of printing engraved plates, as 
 practised by Diirer and his printers, may now be summarized as follows : 
 I. Clean wiping, with intensely black, strong ink; 2. Attempts to obtain 
 tinting with such ink, caused by accidents which the printers tried to 
 bring under control; 3. The substitution of softer and warmer inks, 
 which not only produced a softer effect, but allowed also of tinting on 
 parts or over the whole surface of the plate, thus giving rise to " artifi- 
 
 xl 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cial " printing. Toward the end of his career, and especially in his 
 portraits, Diirer seems, however, to have preferred again simpler methods, 
 with only very slight tinting. He saw, no doubt, that such artificial 
 printing as may be seen in the two impressions of No. 95 was likely to 
 lead to excess, and he therefore cried halt. 
 
 It is very curious to note that these skilled sixteenth-century printers 
 stopped short at tinting, and did not also discover " retroussage," that 
 is to say, the spreading of the ink between the lines by playing over the 
 plate with a soft rag after it has been wiped. It was left for the printers 
 of the nineteenth century to make this discovery. Not even Rembrandt 
 knew " retroussage," although he, too, tried his hand at tinting and artifi- 
 cial printing, as we may see, for instance, in the splendid impression of 
 the "St. Francis," B 107, in the collection of Mr. Theodore Irwin, of 
 Oswego. 
 
 It would have been desirable to illustrate the development of printing 
 as above outlined by actual demonstration, that is to say, by a series of 
 impressions from one and the same plate, in different inks and difierently 
 wiped. To make this demonstration conclusive, however, it would have 
 needed a plate, if not engraved by Diirer, at least approximating his 
 manner. Such a plate, unfortunately, was not obtainable. There have, 
 however, been placed on exhibition a number of impressions of a 
 modern etching, which will serve to show what the printer can do with 
 a plate, — a subject of which the public at large is entirely uninformed, 
 to the detriment of the printer. For further explanations, see Sup- 
 plementary Illustrations, Nos. XIV and XV. 
 
 The differences in the qualities of the prints from the same plate add 
 to their charm, as they give an individuality to each impression, and 
 allow of the exercise of taste by the purchaser. It goes without saying 
 that Diirer was fully aware of these differences, but it is nevertheless 
 interesting to find that he refers to them. Speaking, in his book on the 
 proportions of the human body, of the impossibility of making two 
 things absolutely alike, he says : " For we see, when we make two im- 
 6 xli 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 pressions from an engraved copper .... that at once a difference can 
 be found, by which we may know them from one another, for many 
 reasons." (L. u. F., p. 218.) 
 
 VIII. DuRER's Price-list. 
 
 As the prices charged by Diirer for his prints are occasionally referred 
 to in the following notes, it may be of interest to group together here all 
 we know concerning them. In the Diary of his journey to the Nether- 
 lands, Diirer has entered also his sales, and from them we can in a meas- 
 ure reconstruct his price-list. The most important sale is that to Sebald 
 Fischer, at Antwerp, from which it appears that his wholesale rates, so to 
 speak, were as follows : — " The Small Passion " on wood, 4 sets for one 
 florin; "The Large Passion," "The Apocalypse," and "The Life of the 
 Virgin," 4 sets for one florin ; " The Passion " on copper, 2 sets for one 
 florin; whole sheets (including such engravings as " Adam and Eve," 
 " Melancholy," etc.), 8 assorted for one florin ; half sheets (" The Great 
 Crucifixion," "The Nativity," etc.), 20 assorted for one florin; quarter 
 sheets (the small Madonnas, saints, and peasant subjects), 45 assorted 
 for one florin. Usually the sales are given in a lump, as " a set of all the 
 copperplates, a Passion on wood, one on copper, two half sheets, and 
 two quarter sheets, sold together for eight florins in gold." Single pieces 
 or sets are priced only occasionally, as a "Passion" on wood, sold for 12 
 stivers (half a florin), and an " Adam and Eve," sold for 4 (one sixth of 
 a florin). These prices are enough to make an admirer and collector of 
 Diirer's works giddy, and to cause him to wish that he had been born 
 four hundred years ago. And even if we take into account the much 
 greater purchasing power of money at the time, they still remain ludic- 
 rously low. According to Thausing the living expenses of a Nuremberg 
 burgher at the time were computed at 50 florins a year, while a salary 
 of 100 florins a year was considered quite decent, and the yearly income 
 of the highest official of the town, that of the imperial magistrate (Schul- 
 
 xlii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 theiss) was only 600 florins. Diirer himself, indeed, hardly considered 
 50 or even 100 florins enough for a year's living. Writing to Jacob Hel- 
 ler on March 19, 1508, about the picture of " The Martyrdom of the Ten 
 Thousand," just finished for the Elector Frederic, he says: "I worked 
 on it nearly a whole year, and shall profit little by it ; for I do not re- 
 ceive more than 280 florins Rhenish for it. One needs about that for 
 food." Lange and Fuhse (p. 9, note 3) write on the same subject as 
 follows : " The Rhenish gold florin, the value of which had considerably 
 decreased, in consequence of continued deterioration of fineness, is cal- 
 culated for the time in question as having a gold value of 5.36 marks 
 ($1.34). Its actual value in use, which, naturally, was very much larger, 
 is apparent from the fact that about the year 1520 the schoolmasters of 
 Nuremberg received only 20 florins in current coin a year, the ' Schneid- 
 arzt ' (cutting physician, i. e., surgeon) 80 florins, the ' medicus,' 100 
 florins; the legal advisers of the council, 160-260 florins. The salary of 
 the ' Schultheiss ' (imperial magistrate), 600 florins, was quite excep- 
 tional, and evidently gaged in accordance with the duties of representa- 
 tion. Accordingly, translated into our present conditions, 200 florins 
 would correspond to 4000 marks (z. e., $1000. The text says 6000 marks, 
 but this is corrected in the errata). Perhaps, however, wherever Diirer 
 mentions only gulden, instead of Rhenish gulden, we shall have to 
 understand Nuremberg gulden. These were worth even more than the 
 Rhenish gulden. A piece of the year 1523 has been calculated, from 
 its weight, to be worth 6.80 marks." This would make it $1.70, and 
 accordingly would raise the purchasing power of 200 florins to about 
 $1270. In the introduction to the catalogue of the Boston Diirer Exhibi- 
 tion, the purchasing power of 100 florins in Diirer's time was assumed to 
 be about equal to $1000, and the prices of his publications were accord- 
 ingly calculated as follows : 
 
 The large woodcut publications, " Apocalypse," etc., in quantities, 
 $2.50 per set. 
 
 xliii 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "The Passion on Copper," in quantities, $5.00 per set. 
 
 The "full sheets," in quantities, $1.25 each. 
 
 The " half sheets," in quantities, 50 cents each. 
 
 The "quarter sheets," in quantities, about 22 cents each. 
 
 The large "Passion on Wood," at retail, $5.00 per set. 
 
 The "Adam and Eve," at retail, $1.67 each. 
 
 Accepting Lange and Fuhse's valuation, these prices will have to be 
 reduced as follows: $5.00 to $3.17; $2.50 to $1.59; $1.67 to $1.06 ; 
 $1.25 to 79 cents; 50 cents to 32 cents; 22 cents to 14 cents. 
 
 IX. The Scope and Value of the Present Exhibition. 
 
 As before noted, and as the title of this catalogue indicates, only the 
 works on metal by Diirer are included in the present exhibition, to the 
 exclusion of the woodcuts. Of the works on metal all are shown in orig- 
 inal impressions, except, as a matter of course, the few which are unique, 
 or nearly so, and therefore not obtainable. These, however, are repre- 
 sented by facsimiles or copies. The doubtful and spurious works are also 
 included, but they have been placed together by themselves (Nos. 103-12). 
 No attempt has been made to show any large number of copies, beyond 
 the few which happened to be within reach almost accidentally. Nor 
 would the exhibition of such copies be desirable or necessary. Although 
 there are some among them which may be called "misleading," the vast 
 majority are sufficiently bad to condemn themselves. As an object les- 
 son, a few late impressions from the worn plates have been admitted, 
 so as to show how badly some of these plates have been abused, and 
 to warn the intending collector of what he must beware. Even such 
 bad impressions are still sometimes catalogued by unscrupulous dealers 
 as " good " or " fine." The Biographical and Supplementary Illustrations 
 hardly call for special mention. 
 
 xliv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In conclusion, a word of regret, — regret that the fine collection here 
 brought together for the edification and the information of the public, 
 by the liberality of a number of owners, who, in accordance with the 
 policy of the Grolier Club, must even remain unnamed, cannot be kept 
 together. Not only is the quality of the impressions here shown, on the 
 average, an exceptionally high one, but the important and distinctive 
 feature of the exhibition is that of some of the prints two, three, and 
 even more impressions are shown. It is this feature which, — with the 
 aid of the notes of the catalogue, — will enable the visitor to make the 
 comparative study of the methods of printing adopted by Diirer which 
 is quite necessary to the full understanding of the interest offered by 
 these prints, and which supplies the material for a chapter in the history 
 of printing, hitherto, as before remarked, altogether too much neglected. 
 Naturally, in the comparisons which had to be instituted between the 
 different impressions, a frank expression of opinion could not be avoided. 
 When the susceptibilities with which collectors are usually charged 
 are considered, it will be thankfully acknowledged that the gentlemen 
 who have contributed to this exhibition have shown themselves remark- 
 ably free from them. It must not be forgotten, however, that some of 
 the terms used in describing the impressions shown do not really con- 
 vey the unfavorable meaning which at first sight they seem to possess. 
 Even a " smudged " impression, that is to say, one in which the tinting 
 is still accidental, is not necessarily a bad one, more especially if con- 
 sidered as a document in the history of printing, and there is not an 
 impression of this kind in the exhibition which any museum would not 
 be, or at least ought to be, glad to possess. And this again emphasizes 
 the regret already expressed, that this collection cannot be kept together 
 for ever and deposited in a museum. As a rule, museums aim only to 
 have one good impression of each print, and this is why comparative 
 studies can only be carried on with difficulty by examining isolated 
 examples in collections scattered all over Europe. The ideal collection 
 would represent, not only each plate, but also all the various possibili- 
 
 xlv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ties of each plate, — and the collection here shown comes nearer to this 
 ideal than any public collection now in existence. 
 
 The list of books and papers consulted in the compilation of this cata- 
 logue, given elsewhere, may serve to point out, not only the facilities for 
 the verification of the references in the notes which follow, but also the 
 means for a thorough study of Diirer in connection with the exhibition. 
 The principal references are, naturally enough, to the biography of Diirer 
 by Moriz Thausing, and, for the convenience of those not conversant 
 with German, to its English translation, except where the contrary has 
 been expressly stated. The finding-list at the end of the catalogue will 
 enable visitors to find without trouble any of the prints by, or attributed 
 to Diirer, according to the numbers given to them by Bartsch and 
 Passavant. 
 
 The abbreviations used almost explain themselves : B stands for 
 Bartsch, R for Retberg, H for Heller, P for Passavant, M for Middleton. 
 
 Right and left, when used in the description of a print, is always un- 
 derstood to refer to the right and the left side of the person looking at 
 it. The case is different when a person represented in the print is spoken 
 of. "The left arm of the Virgin," for instance, actually means her left 
 arm, although in the print it is seen on the right side. 
 
 xlvi 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 a NUREMBERG in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
 
 /. View of the western side of Nuremberg, taken from the Haller- 
 wiese, at the mouth of the Pegnitz. " From the low-lying point of view, 
 the observer, facing north, sees, above, the Thiergartner Tower, or the 
 New Gate Tower, which was then still quadrangular, whence the city 
 wall runs toward the right in front, while in the distance, wooded 
 heights extend up to the houses of St. Johann " (Thausing, I, p. 123, 
 2d ed.). Heliotype from a drawing in colors by Diirer, in the Kunst- 
 halle at Bremen. Above is written " Nornperg," with Diirer's mono- 
 gram, which is, however, a later addition. (Lippmann, No. 103.) 
 
 2. The houses of St. Johann, near Nuremberg. Above is written 
 " Sant Johans Kirchn," i. e., " St. John's Church," with Diirer's mono- 
 gram, which is again a later addition. To the right are seen the chapel 
 and the cemetery, where Diirer was to find his last resting-place (Thau- 
 sing, I, p. 123, 2d ed.). Hehotype from the drawing in body colors, by 
 Diirer, in the Kunsthalle at Bremen. (Lippmann, No. 104.) 
 
 3. Nuremberg in 1552. Etching by Hans Sebald Lautensack. The 
 inscription over the coat-of-arms reads : " True representation of the 
 praiseworthy city of the realm Nuremberg, against the rising of the sun. 
 1552." Lauteasack etched also a companion view, "against the setting 
 of the sun." 
 
 There are other views near Nuremberg by Diirer, drawn, probably, toward the 
 end of the fifteenth century. Of these the " Weidenmiihle" (willow-mill), still 
 existing near the Hallerwiese, according to Thausing; the " Drahtziehmiihle " 
 
 7 xlix 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (wire-drawing mill); a view of the village of Kalkreut; and the " Weiherhaus," 
 near the Gleishammer, east of Nuremberg (Thausing, I, pp. 123-24, 2d ed.), 
 have been reproduced by Lippmann (Nos. 331, 4, 105, and 220) : two 
 of them (Nos. 4 and 220) in the colors of the originals. The "Weiherhaus" 
 was utilized by Diirer in the middle distance of " The Virgin and Child with 
 the Monkey" (No. 13 of this catalogue). Ephrussi mentions furthermore a 
 view taken from the Trockensteg, in the Albertina, and a large view of a village 
 near Nuremberg, in the Bertini Collection, at Milan. 
 
 b DURER'S FATHER, Albert Durer the Elder. 
 
 Etching from the painting in the possession of the Duke of Northum- 
 berland, now at Sion House, London. The etching was made by 
 Wenzeslas Hollar, in the year 1644, when the painting was in the col- 
 lection of the Earl of Arundel. The inscription above reads: " 1497. 
 Albrecht Thvrer, the elder, and old 70 years." Old copies of this pic- 
 ture are preserved in the Staedel Institute, Frankfort, and in the gallery 
 (Pinakothek) at Munich. Of the latter there is a lithograph by Strixner. 
 
 There is another portrait of Diirer the Elder, by his son Albert, in the gallery 
 of the Uffizi, at Florence, which, according to Thausing (I, p. 47, 2d ed.), was 
 painted at the end of Diirer's apprenticeship, and before he started on his wan- 
 derings as a journeyman painter (1490). Ephrussi (pp. 81, 82) describes also a 
 drawing in the British Museum as a portrait of Diirer the father, by the son, 
 and Springer (p. 171) refers to it as a study for the painting in Florence. Lipp- 
 mann, however, does not reproduce it, which shows that he rejects it. A me- 
 dallion portrait of Diirer the Elder, said to have been modeled by the son in 
 the year 1514, is now discredited. (Thausing, II, p. 51, 2d ed.) 
 
 c DURER'S MOTHER, Barbara Durer. 
 
 Facsimile of a drawing by Diirer, in the Print Cabinet at Berlin. 
 (Lippmann, No. 40.) The inscriptions may be translated as follows: 
 " 1 5 14. March 19. This is Albrecht Diirer's mother, she was 63 years 
 old, and died in the year 15 14, on Tuesday before Rogation-Day-Week 
 [May 16], at two o'clock towards night." (See about the date of death, 
 under "Melancholy," No. 70 of this catalogue.) 
 
 1 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 d DURER'S BROTHERS. 
 
 /. Hans Diirer, not, however, the second youngest of the Diirer chil- 
 dren, so often mentioned in Albert's biography, but an elder brother, by 
 trade probably a tailor (Thausing, I, pp. 49, 50, 2d ed.). Photograph 
 from the painting dated 1500 in the gallery (Pinakothek) at Munich. 
 There is also a lithograph of this picture by Strixner. 
 
 2. Andrew Diirer, goldsmith, born 1 484 (Thausing, I, pp. 51, 5 2, 2d ed.). 
 Above is written, after the date, 15 14, and the monogram: "Thus was 
 Endres Durer formed, when he was thirty years old." Photograph from 
 a drawing by Durer in the Albertina at Vienna. Another drawing, 
 of a man seen in less than profile, also dated 15 14, and also in the 
 Albertina, is declared by Thausing (II, p. 67, 2d ed.) to be a second 
 portrait of Andrew Diirer, and to have been utilized for the man seen 
 in profile on the left in Diirer's etching, "The Man in Despair" (No. 85 
 of this catalogue). Ephrussi, however, who reproduces the drawing 
 (p. 177), controverts this opinion. 
 
 The elder Diirer had eighteen children, but of these only two, besides Albert, 
 were living in the year 1524, when the latter compiled his family chronicle. 
 They were Andrew, mentioned above, and Hans, the second youngest, born 
 1490, painter and pupil of his brother. Three of the boys had been given the 
 name of Hans. The full list of names, with dates of birth, as noted by their 
 father and handed down to posterity by Albert, can be found in Lange and 
 Fuhse, " Diirer's Schriftlicher Nachlass," pp. 4-7. Of none of them, however, 
 are portraits known to exist, except of Albert, the celebrated painter; Hans, the 
 supposed tailor; and Andrew, the goldsmith. 
 
 e ALBERT DURER. 
 
 /. 1484. Photograph from the drawing by Durer in the Albertina 
 at Vienna. The inscription reads as follows : " This I drew from myself 
 out of a looking glass in the 1484 year, when I was still a child. 
 Albrecht Diirer." As Diirer was born in the year 147 1, it follows 
 that he was then thirteen years old. 
 
 li 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 2. As a youth. Reduced reproduction of the drawing by Diirer, in 
 the University Library at Erlangen. The inscription, " Martin Schon 
 Contrefeit," and the date, 1465, are later additions. A full size repro- 
 duction accompanies the article by W. von Seidlitz (Jahrb. der K. preuss. 
 Kunstsammlungen, XV, pp. 23-26), in which attention was called to this 
 portrait for the first time. (On the same mount are grouped together 
 reduced reproductions of the four earliest known portraits of Diirer by 
 himself. Compare Nos. i, 3, and 4.) 
 
 3. 1493. Engraver-etching, by Louis Schulz, from the painting by 
 Diirer in the possession of Mr. Eugen Felix, of Leipsic. Above is 
 written: " 1493. My affairs go, as it stands above," i. e., according to 
 the will of heaven. An old copy is in the Museum at Leipsic. It was 
 this copy on which Goethe based his enthusiastic description in his 
 "Annals" for 1805. For Thausing's speculations regarding the sup- 
 posed connection of this picture with Diirer's marriage with Agnes Frey, 
 in the year 1494, see his first volume, pp. 131-134, 2d ed. 
 
 4. 1498. Photograph from the painting by Diirer, in the gallery of 
 the Prado, at Madrid. The inscription reads: "1498. I painted this 
 from my figure, when I was six-and-twenty years old," followed by the 
 monogram. A duplicate, in the gallery of the Ufifizi at Florence, is, 
 according to Thausing (I, p. 187, 2d ed.), a copy. 
 
 5. 1498. Etching by Wenzeslas Hollar, executed in the year 1645, 
 from a similar picture, which was at the time in the collection of the 
 Earl of Arundel. The position is reversed, and the inscription, identical 
 as to matter, stands near the lower margin, whereas in No. 4 it is placed 
 under the window, with the date and monogram. 
 
 6. 1504, 1505 ? Photograph from the best-known of Diirer's por- 
 traits of himself, in the gallery (Pinakothek) at Munich. According to 
 Thausing (II, pp. 97-98, 2d ed.), "the picture is in very bad condition 
 to-day. Little is left of its original coloring, which, without a doubt, 
 was quite bright and clear. Repainting and brown varnish have given 
 it the look of a picture by a late artist of the Netherlands, who is in 
 
 lii 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 search of chiaroscuro. Through the black repainting of the background, 
 there may still be seen, on the right, traces of a tablet with curved 
 outlines, and formerly light in color, with an inscription. The present 
 inscription, as well as the monogram and the date, 1500, are falsifications, 
 and have been painted in powdered gold. (The inscription reads : 
 ' Albertus Durerus Noricus ipsum me propriis hie effingebam coloribus 
 aetatis anno XXVIII.') The year 1500 .... is altogether improbable 
 for this portrait of Diirer by himself. This is shown by comparison with 
 all his other portraits and paintings in general, but more especially with 
 the far more youthful portrait of 1498, also by himself, in Madrid. In 
 my opinion the picture cannot have originated before 1503, and not 
 after 1509, — perhaps 1504 or 1505, by way of mere suggestion." 
 
 7. Engraving by Frangois Forster, executed in 1822, from the paint- 
 ing in Munich (see No. 6). Dedication proof, with only the engraver's 
 name, inscribed to " Mr. MuUer." 
 
 8. Engraving by M. Steinla. The original is not known. Nagler, in 
 the list of Steinla's works, " Lexicon," XVII, p. 207, merely says : 
 " Albrecht Diirer, ^ view, different from the picture in Munich." The 
 probability is that it is a free adaptation of this picture. 
 
 9 and 10. 1 508-11. Diirer introduced himself into his three most 
 celebrated pictures, — "The Feast of the Rosary," painted for the German 
 merchants of Venice in the year 1506; " The Assumption of the Virgin," 
 painted for Jacob Heller, finished 1509; and "The Trinity," or "All 
 Saints" picture, painted for Matthew Landauer, and dated 151 1. An 
 outline of "The Feast of the Rosary " is given by Thausing (I, opp. p. 352, 
 2d ed.). Diirer, who stands in the middle ground, on the right, with 
 his friend Pirkheimer behind him, holds in his hand a large sheet of 
 paper, on which is written : " Exegit qvinqvemestri spatio Albertvs 
 Dvrer Germanvs MDVL," and the monogram. Of the two other figures 
 illustrations are here shown. No. 9 is a facsimile from one of Diirer's 
 studies for " The Assumption of the Virgin," in the Print Cabinet at Berlin 
 (Lippmann, No. 23). On the tablet which Diirer holds is his mono- 
 
 liii 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 gram, and below it the date, 1508, and the words: " Er selber," i. e., 
 "He himself." On No. 10, an engraving by Lucas Kilian (1579-1637), 
 known as " Diirer's Temple of Honor," the figure from the "Assump- 
 tion" is given on the left, while that from the "All Saints" picture 
 stands on the right, both as they appear in the finished pictures, except 
 that they do not hold the tablets with the inscriptions. The inscription 
 on the "Assumption" reads: " Albertvs Dvrer Alemanvs faciebat post 
 virginis partvm 1509;" that on the "All Saints" picture: "Albertvs 
 Dvrer Noricvs Faciebat Anno a Virginis Partv 151 1." An etching by 
 V. Jasper of the last named figure is also given by Thausing, as a frontis- 
 piece to his second volume. 
 
 //. 1520. From a portrait painted from life at Antwerp, in the year 
 1 520, by Thomas Vincidor, of Bologna. Engraved by Andr. Stock, 1629. 
 Thomas Vincidor, or Tommaso Vincidore, was a pupil of Raphael, who 
 had come to the Netherlands with a letter of introduction from Pope 
 Leo X, to superintend the weaving of the tapestries from the cartoons 
 of Raphael and his pupils. It was from him that Diirer first learned of 
 the death of Raphael. The two seem to have become quite intimate, 
 for they exchanged presents, and Diirer gave to Tommaso a complete 
 set of his prints, to be sent to Rome to another painter, who was to send 
 in return Raphael's works, meaning, without doubt, Marcantonio's en- 
 gravings after Raphael (Thausing, II, p. 187, 2d ed.). It is not known 
 what has become of the original. 
 
 12. " Albert Durer G".""," i. e., " engraver," and therefore holding a cop- 
 per plate and a burin. Engraved by Edelinck. (R.-D., VII, p. 253, No. 
 193, 3d St.) Thausing suggests that this " not very exact " portrait may 
 be based on the one painted by Tommaso Vincidore, just described 
 (No. II). 
 
 13. A slight sketch made by Diirer during his last illness, and offering 
 quite a pathetic interest from the words written upon it by the patient : 
 " Where the yellow spot is and [I] point with the finger to it, there it 
 hurts me." It is evident that the drawing was sent to some physician 
 
 liv 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 for his advice. (See Cust, p. 80, for the opinion of a modern physician, 
 Dr. Norman Moore, on the cause of Diirer's death, based on this drawing 
 and on the symptoms, as described by the artist himself.) Heliotype from 
 the drawing, sHghtly washed with color, by Diirer, in the Kunsthalle at 
 Bremen. (Lippmann, No. 130.) 
 
 14. At the age of fifty-six years. Woodcut, B 156, published after 
 Diirer's death. Above is the legend : " Albrecht Diirer portrayed at the 
 age of his LVL year." Below twenty-four lines of rhymes, in three col- 
 umns of eight lines each. In the upper left corner is Diirer's coat-of- 
 arms, without date or motiogram. According to Bartsch there are three 
 states of this cut. The impression exhibited is of the second state. As 
 Diirer was born May 21, 1471, and died April 6, 1528, the age given 
 on the cut would place the design at least into the year 1527. Thausing, 
 however, is of opinion that the drawing was made after Diirer's death, 
 possibly with the aid of a death mask (II, p. 295, 2d ed.). That it was 
 not published until after his death is apparent from the verses, and the 
 fact that the date of the artist's demise is wrongly given, — May 6, 1528, 
 instead of April 6, — would seem to argue still further that the cut must 
 have been issued some time after the event, for certainly such a mistake 
 could not have been made so long as its memory was still fresh in the 
 minds of Diirer's friends. 
 
 15. A very close recutting (Bartsch's Copy A) of the third state of the 
 woodcut described under No. 14, with the date 1527 and Diirer's mono- 
 gram inserted in the coat-of-arms. This is a very good example of the 
 close facsimiles made by the woodcutters of the sixteenth century, show- 
 ing that they must have understood the art of transferring to the wood 
 the cut to be reproduced. 
 
 16. At the age of fifty-six years. Reversed copy, by an unknown en- 
 graver, of an etching made by Melchior Lorch in the year 1550. (See 
 Bartsch, IX, p. 505, No. 10.) 
 
 17. Same as the preceding, converted into a chiaroscuro by the ad- 
 dition of a tint block. 
 
 Iv 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 18. Process reproduction of a drawing from a marble statue by M. J. 
 Ezekiel, an American sculptor residing at Rome, — one of a series of 
 statues of artists, all executed by the same sculptor, for the decoration 
 of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, at Washington. 
 
 Another portrait of Diirer by himself, of the year 1492, was in the possession 
 of the Imhoffs, at Nuremberg, but Thausing (II, p. 190, 2d ed.) is of opinion 
 that it was a forgery. Numerous suggestions have been made as to likenesses 
 of Diirer occurring in his earlier works. Springer sees him in the Adam in the 
 " Studies for Adam and Eve" (No. 112 of this catalogue), in which he would 
 detect his earliest engraving. He has also been discovered in the young man 
 facing full front in "The Five Soldiers and a Turk" (No. 3 of this catalogue), 
 and even in "The Prodigal" (No. 5). Springer ("Diirer," p. 14) sees him in 
 a drawing of two horsemen, in the cabinet at Munich, and Wustmann points 
 him out in the woodcut which represents Celtes presenting his edition of 
 Roswitha's comedies to Frederic the Wise. (Zeitschrift f. b. Kunst, XXII, p. 
 193.) Finally, it has been claimed that his representations of Christ are all 
 modeled on his own likeness. The Emperor Maximihan I is said to have 
 complained that every one who could draw a crooked nose thought he could 
 draw his portrait. So Diirer might perhaps complain that every long-headed 
 young man with flowing curls was supposed to be he. As to the shape of Durer's 
 head, and as to his countenance in general, the portraits here brought together, 
 mostly by his own hand, give curious evidence. Did his head shrink, and 
 change, from an almost abnormally long one to a round one ? Or did he 
 flatter himself in his earher portraits ? Great and good man that he undoubt- 
 edly was, it cannot be denied that even he was tainted, however mildly, by the 
 leading vice of his age, — vanity (see Introduction, p. xx), and, considering the 
 praise showered upon him during his Ufetime, the fact that he was not utterly 
 spoiled shows his goodness still more markedly. It is quite likely, therefore, that 
 he did flatter himself. Did he, possibly, not set his teeth, when he painted or 
 drew his portrait, thus lengthening the lower part of his face ? But even this 
 assumption does not entirely remove the difficulties which stand in the way of 
 reconcihng these different portraits. The two earliest drawings of himself (Nos. 
 • I and 2), as a boy and as a youth, show a very long head, and it is not to be 
 supposed that he was even then trying to flatter himself. On the other hand, 
 the portrait of 1493 (No. 3), which is of all his portraits the most frank, the 
 most ingenuous, certainly shows a somewhat rounder head than either those 
 which precede it or the one which immediately follows, of the year 1498, in 
 which we see him arrayed in the garb of a " dandy " of his day (No. 4). But 
 the palm is carried off in this respect by the celebrated Munich portrait (No. 6); 
 
 Ivi 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and this again is flatly contradicted by the only portrait which we have of him, 
 painted from life by another artist, — that by Tommaso Vincidore, executed in 
 Antwerp, in 1520. The later portraits, such as the woodcut published after 
 Diirer's death (No. 14), are quite in harmony with this of the year 1526, but 
 in the little sketch sent to the physician (No. 13) Diirer himself again reverts to 
 an indication of his earlier looks. Did he possibly lose his teeth comparatively 
 young ? That would certainly affect the lower part of the face very decidedly, 
 and quite in a contrary sense to the suggested artificial lengthening in earlier 
 days. 
 
 f DURER'S WIFE, Agnes Frey. 
 
 /. Inscribed " Main Agnes," i. e., " My Agnes," followed by the 
 monogram, which, judging from the shape, would, however, seem to be 
 a later addition. This is supposed to be the earliest drawing extant of 
 the young wife of Albert. It shows her in her kitchen costume, the 
 head supported on the right hand, as if she had fallen asleep from sheer 
 exhaustion by her housework. Thausing (I, p. 142, 2d ed.) supposes it 
 to be a joke by the young husband. Photograph from Diirer's drawing 
 in the Albertina, at Vienna. 
 
 2. Facsimile of a drawing by Diirer in the Kunsthalle at Bremen 
 (Lippmann, No. 113). Thausing (I, p. 142, 2d ed.) mentions such a 
 drawing, but says of it that it presents " still the same narrow girl-face 
 with the straight nose" as No. i. Ephrussi, who reproduces the draw- 
 ing under the title "Portrait d' Agnes Frey," says (p. 35) that it shows 
 her "somewhat more aged" and "impressed by a precocious gravity," 
 while Lippmann describes it as the portrait of a woman with " lean, sickly 
 look," and suggests that it may be the sister of Agnes, Catherine. 
 
 3. 1500. Photograph from a drawing in colors by Diirer, in the 
 Ambrosiana, at Milan. There is no date, but the year 1500 is probable, 
 in view of the drawing described under No. 5. Agnes Diirer here 
 appears, according to Thausing (I, p. 143, 2d ed.), "as the tidy, chaste 
 housewife, with head and eyes lowered, in white cap and apron, in green, 
 richly trimmed dress, over it a red shoulder cloth, trimmed with black, at 
 the belt the well-filled leather pouch, in the hand a large handkerchief." 
 
 8 Ivii 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 4. 1500. According to Thausing (I, p. 143, 2d ed.), the drawing 
 just described served Diirer as a model for one of the costume drawings, 
 in color, in the Albertina, at Vienna. The wood-engraving in colors 
 here shown, by F. W. Bader, of Vienna, from the drawing as stated, 
 makes it evident that the Milan and the Vienna drawings are almost 
 identical. Above is written: "Thus they dress in the houses, Nurem- 
 berg." Date assumed, as under No. 3. 
 
 5. 1500. Another of Diirer's costume studies in the Albertina, for 
 which his wife is supposed to have served him as a model. Above is 
 written: "Think of me in your kingdom, 1500. Thus they go to church 
 at Nuremberg." Wood-engraving in colors, by F. W. Bader, of Vienna, 
 from the drawing as stated. 
 
 6. 1500. A third costume study, for which again Agnes Diirer is 
 supposed to have served as a model. Original in the Albertina. The 
 inscription on it reads : " Thus the women of Nuremberg go to the 
 dance, 1500." Wood-engraving in colors, by F. W. Bader, of Vienna, 
 from the drawing, as stated. 
 
 7. 1504. Above, under the date, Diirer's monogram and " Albrecht 
 Diirerin." This silver-point drawing shows Agnes Diirer, according to 
 Thausing (I, p. 144, 2d ed.), " in full development and in the flower of her 
 beauty." Facsimile of the drawing by Diirer, in the collection of Dr. 
 Blasius, at Brunswick. (Lippmann, No. 133.) 
 
 8. 1 52 1. In the Netherlands Diirer bought various pieces of finery 
 for his wife, among others, in Bergen-op-Zoom, on December 3, 1520, " a 
 Netherlandish thin kerchief for the head." In this head-dress, well 
 known from pictures of the Flemish school, according to Thausing 
 (II, pp. 191, 192, 2d ed.), Diirer portrayed his wife, upon his return to 
 Antwerp. The facsimile here shown is from the original in the Print 
 Cabinet, at Berlin. (Lippmann, No. 64.) The inscription reads as fol- 
 lows : " Albrecht Diirer drew this from his wife at Antwerp in the Neth- 
 erlandish dress in the year 1521, when they had been married XXVII 
 years." 
 
 Iviii 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 9, 1 52 1. Photograph from a leaf from the sketch-book used by Diirer 
 during his journey to and from the Netherlands, original in the Court 
 Library, at Vienna. On the right is Agnes Diirer, over whose head is 
 written: "On the Rhine, my wife, near Boppart." Above the head of 
 the young girl on the left are the words : " Kdlnisch gepent," i. e., " Co- 
 logne binding," showing the way in which the girls at Cologne used to 
 bind up their hair. The drawing was made on the return journey. It is 
 the last portrait we have of Diirer's "aged wife" (Thausing, II, pp. 206, 
 207, 2d ed.). 
 
 Mention is made also of a medallion likeness of Agnes by her husband, but, like 
 all the other things of this kind, it is now looked upon as a falsification (Thau- 
 sing, II, p. 51, 2d ed.). Diirer's wife, on the testimony of the undoubtedly 
 prejudiced, aged, gouty, and therefore testy Pirkheimer, has for centuries en- 
 joyed the reputation of being a sixteenth-century Xantippe, who, if she did not 
 directly kill her husband, was at least the cause of hastening his death, and who 
 certainly led him a sad Hfe, by reason of her cupidity and her acrimony. Later 
 writers, and more especially Thausing, have gone to the other extreme, and have 
 made of her, if not an angel, at least a most exemplary, faultless housewife, and 
 besides this spiritual beauty, they have claimed for her also fleshly beauty. Her 
 youthful portraits do show that she was not uncomely, but she can hardly be 
 called a beauty. She simply had the attractiveness of all well-developed, 
 healthy female bodies. As to her spiritual beauty, it is to be feared that the 
 later portraits bequeathed to posterity by her husband will not help to substan- 
 tiate all the claims advanced in her favor by her latter-day advocates. Even 
 the evidently flattered drawing " in the Netherlandish dress " reveals the coun- 
 tenance of a woman who knows her mind, which, to be sure, is not a fault, if the 
 mind be all right. But in the portrait drawn on the Rhine there is a sullen, — 
 one is tempted to say a somewhat malignant, — expression, which makes us 
 sigh for poor Albert. Even if not a Xantippe, this woman cannot have been a 
 fit companion for the dreamy, speculative, ardent spirit which dwelt in the body 
 of her husband. 
 
 g DURER'S COAT-OF-ARMS. 
 
 Reduced reproduction of the woodcut, B 160, dated 1523 (from 
 Cust, p. 9). "In the year 1523," writes Thausing (II, p. 269, 2d ed.), 
 " Diirer devoted a nice large woodcut to his own coat-of-arms, with the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 open door on the tri-mountain (' Dreiberg ') surmounted by the torso of 
 a negro. It is the same coat which was used already by his father, who 
 may even have brought it with him from his Hungarian home, for the 
 ' Dreiberg ' is an attribute frequently occurring in Hungarian coats." The 
 door on the escutcheon involves a pun, being an allusion to Diirer, or 
 Thiirer, as the name may also be written, the English equivalent of 
 which would be "Doorer." 
 
 A slight drawing of Diirer's coat-of-arms is in the British Museum. (Lippmann, 
 No. 264.) The family coat-of-arms, that is to say, the Diirer coat allied to an- 
 other, which latter is supposed to be that of Diirer's mother, is painted on the 
 back of the portrait of Albert Diirer, the elder, by his son, in the gallery of the 
 Uffizi, at Florence. For a full description see Thausing, I, p. 45, 2d ed. 
 
 h DURER'S HOUSE IN NUREMBERG. 
 
 Etching by J. C. Erhard, 1 8 16, from a drawing made by J. A. Klein, 
 in the year 181 5. This is the house in the Zistelgasse, near the Thier- 
 gartner Gate, bought by Diirer on June 14, 1509, formerly owned by 
 Bernhard Walther, the astronomer, and still known as the " Diirer 
 House" (Thausing, I, p. 150, 2d ed.). 
 
 The house which the elder Diirer bought on May 12, 1475, which his 
 
 celebrated son spent his childhood and youth, is also still standing. It was 
 known in the sixteenth century as the corner house of the goldsmith, Peter 
 Kraft, " unter der Vesten," /'. <f., below the castle, to-day called " Burgstrasse," or 
 Castle Street, and is now, according to Thausing (I, p. 42, 2d ed.), numbered 934. 
 
 1 DURER'S TOMB. 
 
 Drawn and etched by Christ. Rosee. Thausing writes (II, pp. 295- 
 296, 2d ed.) : " Durer died in Passion Week, April 6, 1528, in his 
 fifty-seventh year, for the completion of which he was still wanting forty- 
 four days. His corpse was interred in the tomb of the Frey family, in 
 St. John's cemetery. The large tombstone, laid down flat, in accordance 
 
 Ix 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 with local custom, is provided at its head with a rising desk, the simple 
 bronze tablet on which bears the following classical epitaph by Pirk- 
 heimer : 
 
 ME. AL. DV. 
 QVICQVID ALBERT! DVRERI MORTALE 
 FVIT, SVB HOC CONDITVR TVMVLO. 
 EMIGRAVIT VIIL IDVS APRILIS 
 MDXXVIII. 
 
 (To the memory of Albert Diirer. What of Albert Diirer was mortal, 
 is laid away beneath this tumulus. He emigrated April 6, 1528.) Under 
 this the monogram of Diirer. The mark which is celebrated the world 
 over was not sufficient, however, to shield Diirer's grave from desecration 
 in his own home. The common custom that the tomb of a family should 
 be ' cleared out ' after its extinction, and made over to the hospital for 
 further utilization, was also carried out in this case without any consider- 
 ation whatever. But the family of the Freys came to extinction already 
 with Diirer's wife Agnes and her sister Catherine, who also was childless. 
 Hence the seventeenth century buried in this grave six beneficiaries, one 
 after the other. Then Joachim von Sandrart bought the tomb, provided 
 it in the year 1681 with his bombastic inscriptions in praise of Diirer, 
 and left it to the Academy which he had organized at Nuremberg. This 
 latter again devoted it to the burial of such foreign artists as had no tomb 
 of their own. From these facts it is sufficiently evident that the skull 
 which was picked up in this tomb, among a number of others, in the 
 year 181 1, and which is still preserved in Nuremberg as the skull of 
 Diirer, has no claim whatever to this name." 
 
 Ixi 
 
DURER'S 
 ENGRAVINGS, DRY-POINTS, 
 AND ETCHINGS. 
 
DURER^S ENGRAVINGS, DRY-POINTS, 
 
 AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 I THE RAVISHER— B 92; H 893; R i; M i.— Without 
 
 EITHER MARK OR DATE. 
 
 a. Very vigorous impression, on bull's-head paper. Intensely black 
 ink, very glossy in the heavy lines, clean wiped. 
 
 b. HeHotype reproduction of the copy which Bartsch describes as 
 "trompeuse," and which is, indeed, misleading at first sight. On 
 closer inspection it is found, however, to differ in many details. To 
 the sign for the detection of the copy given by Bartsch may be added 
 the following: — In the original the little bush close to the left shoulder 
 of the man is fairly well separated from it, while in the copy it almost 
 touches it ; the shading of the left thigh of the man in the original 
 consists of only one system of lines, running the long way of the limb, 
 while in the copy there is a second system of lines laid across the first. 
 
 The impressions from this plate in the Print Room of the British Museum, 
 London, the Departement des Estampes at the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 
 and the Royal Print Cabinets at Dresden and Berlin, are all similar to a, i. e., 
 printed in strong black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 Very primitive handling, especially in the flesh of the woman, which is 
 modeled with little scratches (" feathery "). In this respect the copy also 
 diff"ers, showing that it is by an at least somewhat later engraver, who could 
 not force himself to be as primitive as his original. Bartsch and Heller think 
 that the design is copied from some older master. Thausing doubts its being 
 by Diirer, as the style " points to a period before that in which Durer began 
 to work." Harck says that it agrees in workmanship with " The Great 
 
 9 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 Courier," and that, as this is universally rejected, the two must fall together. 
 If this were so, however, the " Five Footsoldiers and a Mounted Turk," No. 3 
 of this catalogue, would also have to be abandoned, despite the monogram, 
 for tlie "Footsoldiers" is very similar to "The Ravisher" in treatment, 
 especially in the modeling of the face of one of the figures, which is quite 
 " feathery." Lehrs, discussing Harck's theories, upholds their authenticity. 
 
 Retberg assigns it to before 1495 ; Heller, to the period between i486 
 and 1500; Middleton says of it, " probably executed in 1494." It certainly is, 
 among all the plates ascribed to Diirer, the most primitive in design as well 
 as in execution, and, if really by Durer, may have been engraved before his 
 first journey, — that is to say, before or in the year 1490. (See Introduction, p. 
 XX. For "The Great Courier" see No. 103 of this catalogue.) 
 
 Bartsch calls this engraving " Le Violent"; Heller, "The Woman defending 
 herself against the Attacks of a Man " ; Hausmann, " The Man using Violence " 
 (Der Gewaltthatige) ; Retberg, "Death, the violent old Man" (Der Tod, ge- 
 waltsame Greis) ; Rosenberg, on the strength of an old inscription in the 
 scroll above the figures, declares the subject to be an allegory of "Envy"; 
 Heller sees in it merely the representation of an attempt of a wicked old man 
 upon an unwilling woman, but the explanation most generally accepted is that 
 given by Thausing (I, p. 205) : " It is the struggle for existence. Death, repre- 
 sented as a savage, — a dried-up hollow-eyed gray-beard, — is trying to offer 
 violence to a young [?] girl, in burgher costume, who represents life." (Com- 
 pare the figure of Death in the " Four Riders of the Apocalypse " in Diirer's 
 woodcut series, illustrating the Apocalypse, B 60-75 5 see also Frimmel, p. 26.) 
 AUihn, on the other hand, p. 50, connects the subject with the belief in witch- 
 craft, and sees in the male figure an incubus, a demon in the assumed shape of 
 a naked man, seeking the ruin of a human being. 
 
 2 THE HOLY FAMILY WITH THE DRAGON-FLY.— 
 
 B 44 ; H 643; R 3 ; M 3. — Monogram with a pointed 
 
 A AND A SMALL GOTHIC d WITHIN IT, THE MOST PRIMI- 
 TIVE MONOGRAM TO BE FOUND ON DURER's PRINTS. 
 
 Good impression, but not of the very earliest, the right cheek of the 
 Virgin already somewhat defective from the wearing of the delicate work. 
 Rather brownish ink, clean wiped. 
 
 In the best early impressions, such as that in the Gray Collection, Boston, and 
 one of those in the Berlin Cabinet, the face is still intact, and they are printed 
 
 2 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 in pure black ink, quite clean wiped. Such tinting as may appear in these early 
 impressions is entirely accidental. No impressions without the graver slip over 
 the head of the Virgin seem to be known. 
 
 Compared with " The Ravisher," this plate shows technical progress, and it 
 is not out of harmony with the plates which follow. In the attractiveness and 
 sweetness of the design, it is, however, quite suige;ieris Bimong Diirer's early work, 
 and it is thus brought into companionship with "The Virgin and Child with the 
 Monkey "(No. 13), although this latter shows great advance in workmanship, 
 Thausing (I, p. 206) supposes it to be a copy from Wolgemut. Retberg assigns it 
 to before 1495; Heller, to the period between i486 and 1500; Von Eye thinks it 
 must have been done during Diirer's apprenticeship, and under the influence of 
 Schongauer's engravings. In the character of the face of the Virgin it is cer- 
 tainly akin to some of Diirer's early woodcuts, which also seem to betray Schon- 
 gauer's influence. Thausing says of it (I, p. 205): " The oldest known engrav- 
 ings undoubtedly by Diirer are ' The Holy Family with the Locust ' and ' The 
 Offer of Love ' [see No. 4 of this catalogue]. Both are signed with his usual mon- 
 ogram, and cannot, therefore, have been engraved before 1496." The shape of 
 the monogram, however, points to a somewhat earlier date. The A as here 
 formed, and the small d it encloses, are only found on very early drawings by 
 Diirer, — the " Madonna with Angels," for instance, of the year 1485, the 
 Orpheus," dated 1494, and the Christ Child, copied from Lorenzo di Credi, dated 
 1495. (See Introduction, p. xiii.) In both these cases, however, the d stands 
 alongside of the A. The Venetian gondola gives evidence in favor of Diirer's 
 disputed first journey to Venice about the year 1494. Middleton places this 
 print in 1494-95. 
 
 Called also " The Holy Family with the Butterfly " or " with the Locust." 
 
 3 FIVE FOOTSOLDffiRS AND A MOUNTED TURK.— 
 
 B 88 ; H 981; R 4; M 7. — Monogram, consisting of a 
 
 POINTED A, WITH A ROMAN CAPITAL D INSIDE OF IT. 
 
 Very fine impression, in black glossy ink, clean wiped, but a trifle too 
 heavy in the darks. Slightly abraded on right (see upper feather in cap of 
 standing man, and the vessel). Watermark, apparently, Hausmann, No. 5. 
 
 Work still quite primitive, especially in the scratchy or " feathery " modeling 
 of some of the faces. Fine impressions in Paris, London, and Berlin, all pure 
 black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 Assigned to before 1495 by Retberg, to between i486 and 1500 by Heller, and 
 to about 1498 by Thausing. A comparison of the monogram, the A of which 
 
 3 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 is still quite pointed, with the monogram on No. 14, shows that it must be earlier 
 than 1497. 
 
 Called also " The Assembly of Warriors," " The Six Warriors," " William 
 Tell," and " The Robbers," the latter on the gratuitous supposition that it rep- 
 resents Diirer (the man seen full face) fallen into the hands of brigands. It is 
 probably only a study of costumes. Notice the Scotch plaid pattern on the 
 saddle-cloth of the Turk. 
 
 4 THE OFFER OF LOVE — B 93 ; H 891 ; R 2 ; M 8.— Mon- 
 ogram SIMILAR TO THAT ON NO. 3. 
 
 a. Very clear impression, with only a slight imperfection in the lower 
 left corner. Pure black ink, clean wiped, with only some accidental 
 smudging in the deepest blacks. From the Balmanno Collection. 
 
 b. From the badly worn, corroded, and retouched plate. 
 
 Very fine impressions in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin, all printed in 
 pure black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 The workmanship is free and unconstrained rather than primitive, quite deli- 
 cate, and very much more careful in the flesh than the preceding plates. The 
 monogram seems a trifle more primitive than that of No. 3, but the workman- 
 ship shows a decided advance. Retberg places this plate before the " Holy 
 Family with the Dragon-fly," but the form of the monogram, in which a Roman 
 D has taken the place of the Gothic d, argues against this order of succession, 
 even without the evidence to be drawn from the greater skill in execution. 
 Heller assigns it to between i486 and 1500, and Thausing (I, p. 205), who un- 
 hesitatingly accepts it as Diirer's, to a date not earlier than 1496. Middleton 
 advances it to the eighth place in his list, while to " The Penance of St. John 
 Chrysostom," No. 7 of this catalogue, he gives the fourth. This sequence is 
 impossible, however, on technical grounds, as well as on the evidence of the 
 monogram. 
 
 Called also " Judah and Tamar " (Genesis xxxviii, v. 16) and " Berthold Tucher 
 and Anna Pfinzing " (in allusion to an old Nuremberg scandal ; see Heller, p. 
 483, or Allihn, pp. 69-70). At present a more general explanation obtains than 
 is hinted at in these titles. " Old age, whether man or woman, purchasing the 
 affection of youth with gold, was a common subject in those days " (Thausing, 
 I, p. 206 ; Allihn, p. 70). G. von Quandt, according to Nagler, doubted the 
 authenticity of the plate, and it must be acknowledged that there are good 
 reasons for doubting. Compared with the plates which precede it, it is abnor- 
 
 4 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 mally skilful and delicate, and there is a superior quality of expression in the 
 frivolous pose and face of the woman and in the face of the old man, of which 
 Diirer was hardly capable. If the plate really should be his, it would, more- 
 over, be the only one among his undoubted works which panders to a vicious 
 taste under the guise of moralizing. Although Diirer was a true child of his 
 period (see his correspondence with Pirkheimer and some of his rhymes), his art 
 is nevertheless singularly free from the obscenity and the grossness which make 
 the work of so many of his contemporaries distasteful. This was recognized 
 even at the time, as shown by the words of Camerarius quoted by Thausing 
 (II, p. 98). 
 
 5 THE PRODIGAL SON.— B 28; H 477; R 5; M 6.— Mono- 
 gram, THE A BEGINNING TO SPREAD SLIGHTLY AT THE TOP, A 
 ROMAN D WITHIN IT. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, some of the perpendicular scratches still 
 slightly visible. Pure black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 b. Good impression, after the slight perpendicular scratches had worn 
 away almost entirely. Brownish ink, clean wiped. From the Donnadieu 
 Collection. 
 
 c. Modern copy. 
 
 The earliest impressions, such as the very fine one in the Gray Collection, Bos- 
 ton, and the equally fine ones in the British Museum, London, and the Berlin 
 Cabinet, very perceptibly show quite a number of long perpendicular scratches 
 in the upper part of the plate, and on its left and right sides. They are printed 
 in pure black ink, and are absolutely clean wiped. 
 
 The workmanship is about equal to No. 4 in the handling or management 
 of the lines, but shows increased skill in the mastery of the burin. 
 
 Assigned by Retberg to before 1495, by Heller to between i486 and 1500, 
 and characterized also by Thausing as very early work, faulty in the drawing 
 of the figure. 
 
 The " Prodigal " himself has been called a likeness of Diirer, which only 
 shows how recklessly such guesses are put forward. The background has 
 always been much admired, and Vasari says of it : " In this engraving there are 
 huts or cabins after the German manner, which are exceedingly beautiful." 
 There is a study for this engraving in the British Museum. (Lippmann, No. 
 222. Reproduced also by Cust, p. 26.) 
 
 5 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 6 ST. JEROME IN PENANCE.— B 6i ; H 776; R8; M 5.— 
 Monogram of the form which henceforth becomes 
 usual, i. e., an a, spreading at the top, with a roman d 
 
 IN IT. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Rather warm ink, clean wiped. Water- 
 mark, a jug similar to Hausmann, No. lo. 
 
 b. Good delicate impression. Soft black ink, clean wiped. There is 
 a press scratch diagonally across the mountains in the distance on the 
 right. The paper shows a very curious watermark, resembling in outline 
 Hausmann, No. 44. 
 
 c. Late impression. The diagonal scratch across the mountains has 
 disappeared again, together with the greater part of the mountains 
 themselves. 
 
 The color of the ink used in printing this plate varies considerably, — from pure 
 black to almost brown. The impressions in pure black ink, clean wiped, such as 
 those in the cabinets at Paris and Berlin, are undoubtedly the earliest. The 
 press scratch noticed under b seems to indicate later impressions. It is seen 
 also in the impression in the Gray Collection in Boston, in fact, there are two 
 such scratches in this impression. Undoubtedly it is not advisable to try to 
 make " states " by the aid of press scratches, but where they are persistent 
 (see the " Nemesis" No. 33), they may be utilized in determining earliness or 
 lateness of impression. As noted above, under c, in the very latest impressions 
 this scratch has disappeared again. 
 
 Workmanship very simple, but skilful and rather delicate. 
 
 Retberg places the engraving before 1495; Heller, between i486 and 1500; 
 Hausmann, in the years immediately following the [second] Venetian journey, 
 which would make it about 1508. The monogram decidedly points to an early 
 date. The lion has a certain typical resemblance to those sketched by Diirer, 
 according to Thausing (I, p. 112), when he was in Venice in 1494. Cust (p. 26) 
 says: "No student of the engravings by Jacopo de' Barbari can fail to be struck 
 by the similarity between the figure of St. Jerome and some of those in Barbari's 
 engravings." 
 
 St. Jerome, one of the most learned of the fathers of the Latin church, a pro- 
 lific writer, and the author of the Vulgate, was born 331 or 342 in Dalmatia of 
 well-to-do parents ; converted at Rome about 360 ; lived four years as an an- 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 chorite in the desert; died about 420 at a monastery near Bethlehem, which he 
 had founded with funds furnished by Paula, a wealthy lady of his following. He 
 was one of the favorite saints of Diirer's and later times, and therefore often 
 taken as a subject by artists. The lion accompanies him, because, according to 
 the legend, he drew a thorn from the paw of the animal, which ever afterwards 
 was his companion. 
 
 7 THE PENANCE OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.— B 63; 
 
 H 723 ; R 7 ; M 4. — Monogram. 
 
 A wonderfully fine impression, pure black ink, slightly glossy, abso- 
 lutely clean wiped. 
 
 The impression here exhibited shows the ideal of the printing of the time, — 
 pure black ink, absolutely clean wiped, the blacks vigorous yet open, the lines 
 full but not too full, nor wiped out; in other words, every line telling at its full 
 value, without any help whatever from smudging or tinting. There is a glorious 
 impression in the Rothschild Collection at Paris, another very beautiful one in 
 the Berlin Cabinet, and a fine one in the Gray Collection, Boston. 
 
 Retberg, before 1495; Heller, 1486-1500. Middleton, as previously noted, 
 places it before " The Offer of Love " (see No. 4), which involves an impos- 
 sibility. The workmanship is, indeed, still very simple, but of a regularity and 
 skill, especially in the modeling of the flesh, which advances it considerably 
 beyond " The Offer of Love." The formation of the monogram also bears 
 evidence in favor of the later position. Thausing (I, p, 228) thinks that we 
 probably have here Diirer's earliest engraved study from the nude female figure. 
 " What difficulties the artist experienced in doing this figure," he says, " can be 
 clearly seen even in the finished engraving. We can note the cutting away of 
 a piece of the rock on which she is sitting; the evident shortening of the figure, 
 as revealed by the existence, above the head, of the original outline, and of the 
 parting of the hair, which has been turned into a hollow in the rock ; and we 
 can even make out the old contour of the shoulder and the top of the arm, 
 though the correction is meant to be hidden by the deep shading. These signs 
 of uncertainty in drawing the human form, which appear to be, in some degree, 
 owing to Venetian influences, are worth noticing, because they form rare excep- 
 tions to his later method." The idea is simply preposterous. Imagine a sit- 
 ting figure, with the head placed where, according to Thausing, it was originally 
 engraved by Diirer, and then consider the proportions of the upper and the 
 lower parts of the body. And again, the notion that an artist like Diirer, even 
 in his younger years, should engrave such a monstrous figure, and then correct 
 
 7 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 it on the plate, instead of making the correction on his preHminary sketch or 
 drawing! Moreover, why should he have left the white line defining the head 
 so glaringly visible? His skill was certainly equal to covering it with lines. 
 The gondola in the distance again points to Venice. 
 
 This plate is frequently, but erroneously, called " St. Genevieve." The story 
 of St. John Chrysostom, " the Golden-mouthed," too long and too unsavory to 
 be recounted here, may be found in Heller. 
 
 8 THE VIRGIN ON THE CRESCENT, WITHOUT 
 CROWN— B 30; H489; R9; M 18.— Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, in pure black ink, but with considerable 
 "smudging" (see below). Some touches of white on the crescent to 
 counteract the effect of the ink on the face of " the man in the moon." 
 Paper somewhat stained. Duplicate from the Berlin Cabinet. 
 
 b. Another impression, not so good, but without " smudging " (see 
 below), and therefore interesting for comparison. 
 
 c. Bartsch's " copie trompeuse " A. 
 
 The meaning of the term " smudging," as here used, has already been explained 
 (see Introduction, p. xxxix), but it may be well, for the prevention of misunder- 
 standings, to repeat the explanation here. It does not, necessarily, imply a criti- 
 cism, much less a condemnation, of the impression to which it applies. On the 
 contrary, it may, and generally does, give added interest to the proof in question. 
 "Smudging," i. e., the presence of ink on the surface of the plate where, origi- 
 nally, there was no intention of having ink, was undoubtedly at first an accident, 
 but, as the art of the printer developed, it led to " tinting," which is " smudg- 
 ing" under the control of the printer. An impression like a is, therefore, a 
 curious and interesting document in the history of printing, in which Diirer 
 and the printers of his plates play a conspicuous part. The " smudging " in 
 this case is, presumably, accidental, as it occurs not only in the dark parts of the 
 drapery, where it might be intentional, but it obscures also " the man in the 
 moon," which cannot be intentional. For an example of " tinting " see, for in- 
 stance. No. 95 of this catalogue. The fine impressions in Paris, London, and 
 Berlin are all clean wiped. 
 
 This very delicately and skilfully engraved little plate, in its placid beauty, 
 vividly recalls Schongauer, especially his " Little Standing Madonna," B 27, 
 and still more Wenzel von Olmiitz's reversed copy of the print named. Schon- 
 gauer's original and Wenzel's copy can be compared in the reproductions given 
 
 8 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 by Lehrs on PI. V of his "Wenzel von Olmiitz." Thausing (I, pp. 225, 226) 
 mentions it as a " small archaic figure," in Wolgemut's manner. An unpleasant 
 feature is the face in the crescent, — the "man in the moon," — upon which the 
 Virgin stands, a detail abandoned by Diirer in later years. A fine example of 
 far-fetched interpretation is furnished in this instance by Von Eye, who detects a 
 symbolical meaning in the apple held by the child, which he declares to be the 
 fruit " of the new tree of life." If this view be accepted, it will be necessary, 
 also, to find symbolical meanings for the pears and even the sucking-bag which 
 occur similarly in other plates. Diirer evidently looked upon them merely as 
 creature-comforts which, in the innocence and " gross materialism " of his na- 
 ture, he considered quite appropriate in the hands of a child. 
 Called also "The Virgm with Long Hair, tied with a Ribbon." 
 
 9 THE LITTLE FORTUNE.— B 78; H 831; R 6; M 9.— 
 Monogram. 
 
 a. Very vigorous impression. Black ink, clean wiped, except in the 
 floating drapery in front of the figure, which shows " smudging " (see re- 
 marks under No. 8). Paper rubbed and spotted, especially about the head. 
 
 b. Good impression, in warmer ink, on warmer paper, clean wiped, 
 not quite sound. From the Buccleuch Collection. 
 
 Impression a is of special interest, as in the series of prints here shown, it is 
 the first undoubtedly conscious attempt at " artificial " printing, although not a 
 successful one. Accidental "smudging" (see the remarks under No. 8) occurs 
 often in old prints, but here it is evidently not an accident. The printer tried 
 to tint the drapery, so as to give it color, but as his ink was not of the right 
 kind, and his skill insufiicient, he produced merely a smudge, which here and 
 there extends even beyond the drapery. 
 
 Called "The Little Fortune," to distinguish it from "Nemesis" or "The 
 Great Fortune " (see No. 33 of this catalogue). Fortune " stands on a globe* 
 and supports herself with her left hand on a reed, to express her inconstancy 
 and frailty," says Bartsch. To this Heller adds that in the same hand " she 
 holds a dangerous thistle." Retberg sees in the " reed " a pilgrim's staff, the 
 form of which it decidedly has, while Thausing (I, p. 230) finds in it evidence 
 that the figure was drawn from a living model, to whom the staff served as a 
 support. " It seems," he goes on to say, " as if Durer were here making a slight 
 attempt to see how far he could adapt engraving to his new ideas of nature 
 before he undertook the larger rendering of the same subject," that is to say of 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 the "Nemesis" (see No. 33, as above). In accordance with this idea he 
 places the print "a few years earlier" than 1503. Retberg assigns it to before 
 1495 ; Heller, to between i486 and 1500. The figure certainly is very like the 
 " Nemesis " in its motive, simply copied, that is to say, from the nude, and it is 
 therefore quite different from the figures probably inspired by Italian art, such 
 as tlie woman in " The Turkish Family" (No. 21) and the one about to strike 
 in the " Hercules" (No. 17). It differs also from the figures in " The Dream" 
 (No. 15), and "The Four Naked Women" (No. 14), in which faint traces of 
 the antique may be detected, and from the " Eve" in "Adam and Eve" (No. 
 34), in which Diirer's theoretical studies find early expression. But the work- 
 manship, very simple although skilful, and the monogram point to an earher 
 time than that of the " Nemesis." The suggestion that the figure is a portrait 
 of Diirer's wife is not worth discussing. 
 
 JO THE LITTLE COURIER.— B 80; H 986; R 13 ; M 10.— 
 Monogram. 
 
 Very fine, clear impression. Pure black ink, clean wiped. Water- 
 mark, large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. 
 
 Again a fine specimen of old clean printing. What there is of tinting along the 
 margins is evidently accidental. Very fine impressions also in Paris, London, 
 Dresden, and Berlin, all printed in pure black ink and clean wiped. 
 
 Retberg assigns this plate to before 1495; Heller, 1486-1500; Middleton, 
 " executed early in 1496." According to Von Eye, it "discloses itself at first 
 sight as rudimentary work." The plate is somewhat puzzling. It is quite 
 archaic in conception, and very simple, although skilful, in execution, and yet 
 the monogram shows considerable development. (For "The Great Courier," 
 see No. 103 of this catalogue.) 
 
 Called also " The Post-boy," and " Eppelein von Gailingen," who was a cele- 
 brated robber-knight of the fourteenth century. 
 
 n THE MONSTROUS PIG.— B 95; H 1019; R 19; M 11.— 
 Monogram. 
 
 Very fine, early impression. Pure black ink, clean wiped. The im- 
 pression is absolutely irreproachable, except that some foolish person has 
 tried to make it look "richer" by strengthening the shadows with India 
 ink. From the Marshall Collection. 
 
 10 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 " In the 1496th year," says an old Nuremberg chronicle, " there was born a 
 curious pig in the village of Landsee [near Nuremberg], with one head, 4 ears, 
 2 bodies, 8 feet, on the 6 it stood, the other 2 were about the body, and had 
 2 tongues." The description tallies with Diirer's engraving, which is therefore 
 unanimously assigned to about 1496, a conclusion which the workmanship and 
 the monogram do not antagonize. Von Eye gives 1476 as the date of the 
 chronicle item, but this is probably a misprint. Evidently a " pot-boiler," made 
 with an eye to the market only. 
 
 Passavant says there are impressions from the retouched plate. 
 
 12 THE PROMENADE.— B 94; H 884; R 14; M 21.— 
 Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine, strong impression, black ink, slight tinting. Water 
 mark, a Gothic p, similar to Hausmann, No. 3. 
 
 b. Reversed copy by Marcantonio, B XIV, p. 415, No. 652. 
 
 c. Reversed copy by Israel van Meckenem. 
 
 The very slight tinting in the original here shown is probably accidental. The 
 impressions in the great cabinets of Europe vary considerably. The one in 
 Paris is a fine dark impression, the ink a trifle warmish, clean wiped. London 
 has a good impression, in very black ink, without any tinting or smudging, 
 but overcharged, so that the lines run together where they are broadest and 
 most closely placed. The tree trunk, for instance, shows black masses and spots 
 in the darkest parts. In Dresden there is a good, clean-wiped proof, black ink, 
 a trifle warmish. The Berlin Cabinet possesses a wonderfully fine impression, 
 pure black ink, absolutely clean wiped, but the lines are rather full or, possibly, 
 still " burry." This latter is decidedly the case in some of the sprigs of grass 
 in the left foreground. The impression must, therefore, be a very early one. 
 
 Retberg assigns this plate to about 1495; Heller to 1486-1500. It is a 
 difiicult plate to place. Its rude, heavy workmanship stands in marked con- 
 trast with the daintmess of the plates which precede it, — No. 8 for instance, — 
 and still more with the rich, yet delicate effect of the one which follows in the 
 arrangement here adopted. The character of the design also is puzzling. 
 There is an archaic, somewhat austere, not to say uncouth, character in these 
 two figures which is out of harmony with Diirer's other works. In the faces, 
 on the other hand, there is the expression of a definite state of mind, — earnest 
 pleading in that of the man, doubt and pondering in that of the woman, — hardly 
 to be found elsewhere (see, for instance. No. 4). If, however, the W theory 
 
 II 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 is given up (see Introduction, p. xxiii), the plate must be accepted, — and is gen- 
 erally accepted, — as being by Diirer, in conception as well as in execution, 
 and its approximate place in the series is fixed by the shape of the monogram. 
 
 Passavant says there are impressions from the worn plate, " rebitten." If so, 
 they must be exceedingly rare. Very likely the statement will have to be 
 accepted with caution, like so many other statements made by the same writer. 
 
 Called also " The Gentleman and the Lady " and " The Knight and the 
 Lady." Diirer and his wife, either as happy lovers or as victims of conjugal 
 strife (see Retberg, Heller, and Von Eye), have been detected in this print, 
 although the explanation of the subject offers no difficulty. It is akin to the 
 scenes of the " Dance of Death," so popular at the time, — a youthful couple, 
 for whom death is already prepared. The inscription on Israel van Mecke- 
 nem's old copy reads, according to Heller : " Ten is niet al tzeyt vast avent. 
 Der doet kompt en brengt den'Aevent," which might be translated : " For is it 
 not always near evening? Death comes and brings evening." 
 
 J3 THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH THE MONKEY — 
 
 B 42; H 628; R 88; M 23.— Monogram. 
 
 a. Very beautiful impression. Perfect in the printing, strong black 
 ink, clean wiped. On paper of a fine warm tint. 
 
 b. Also a very beautiful impression, but not so closely wiped. It is 
 consequently fuller in the darks, and the sky and distance do not hold 
 their places so well. The lighter tint of the paper serves to heighten 
 the contrast. From the Fisher Collection. 
 
 c. Late impression from the worn plate. 
 
 The two impressions a and b are both very fine, and both in perfect preserva- 
 tion. They are in reality both clean wiped, but b seems to be printed with 
 stiffer ink, and some of the darks are filled. All the fine impressions in Paris, 
 London, Dresden, and Berlin, and the one in the Gray Collection, Boston, are 
 printed in strong black ink, clean wiped. Most of the impressions from this 
 plate, however, show some unsoundness in the upper part. 
 
 The late impressions, such as c, are mere shadows, but, nevertheless, they are 
 not quite unattractive. The plate wore very evenly, and therefore preserves 
 something of unity, even in its decay, while late impressions from other plates 
 are ragged and hideous. See, for instance, the worn impressions, Nos. 47 b 
 and 516. In the Gray Collection, Boston, there is an instructive series of four 
 
 12 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 impressions, illustrating the gradual deterioration of the plate. The latest proofs, 
 like c, show a hole at top. 
 
 Retberg assigns before 1506 to this plate, Heller, 1500-06, which is alto- 
 gether too late, as it would place it after the " Adam and Eve " of 1504 (No. 34 
 of this catalogue). It is of the utmost simplicity in handling, although very deli- 
 cate and skilful, without any attempt at variation of texture (a very slight varia- 
 tion, in the under sleeve of the Madonna's garment on her left arm, excepted), 
 and therefore without even the faintest suggestion of color. In this respect it 
 is worth comparing with " Adam and Eve " and " The Virgin sitting by a Wall " 
 (Nos. 34 and 75 of this catalogue). Placed as it here is, between " The Prome- 
 nade " and the " Four Naked Women," it does certainly seem out of place, and 
 it may indeed be said of these three plates that, if they were judged by their work- 
 manship alone, bore no monogram, and nothing whatever were known of their 
 pedigree, it is not very likely that they would be assigned to one and the same 
 artist. The doubts to which this plate and " The Holy Family with the Dragon- 
 fly" (No. 2 of this catalogue) have given rise have before been alluded to (see 
 Introduction, p. xvi). 
 
 Among the Virgins of Diirer, — late as well as early, — this is one of the most 
 beautiful and dignified, or it may, perhaps, be quite as safe to say, ihe most beau- 
 tiful and dignified, not only in the figures of the Virgin and Child, but also in the 
 breadth and airiness of the landscape. Unfortunately the enjoyment of the de- 
 sign is marred somewhat by the fact that the child is teasing a poor little bird, 
 and holds in its left hand a sucking-bag, which is even more objectionable than 
 the usual apple or pear. The monkey has given opportunity to the commenta- 
 tors to display their ingenuity. According to Retberg it symbolizes the devil. 
 Heller thinks it is intended for the child to play with, while Von Eye conjectures 
 that such animals were probably kept in the houses of persons of rank at the 
 time. The opinion expressed by Passavant, that the design suggests Italian in- 
 fluences, is shared also by other writers, but these Italian influences are noticea- 
 bly modified by German feeling, and it is therefore quite logical in Springer that 
 he should have tried to assign the conception to Jacopo de' Barbari, in whom 
 Italian and German peculiarities so intermingle that his nationality was for a 
 long time in doubt. In its austerity it is allied to the contemporaneous designs 
 of the " Apocalypse," but there is more beauty in it. The loveliness of the back- 
 ground was early recognized, and several Italian engravers availed themselves 
 of it. A water-color study for the landscape distance on the right is in the 
 British Museum. (Lippmann, No. 220.) 
 
 13 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 14 FOUR NAKED WOMEN.— B 75 ; H 861 ; R 21 ; U 24.— 
 
 Monogram; dated 1497. 
 
 a. Beautiful impression, black ink, quite clean wiped, on paper of a 
 warm tint. The impression lacks about one eighth of an inch on the 
 right, and the outline has been cut away all around. A false margin was 
 then supplied and the outline redrawn with ink, — both operations done 
 with marvelous skill. Comparison with b will show that the original out- 
 line was duplicated along lower left margin, and that it did not touch the 
 little upper ball of the ornament suspended from the ceiling. Water- 
 mark, large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. 
 
 b. Very fine impression. Warmish ink, clean wiped, on paper of a 
 lighter tint. From the Rendorp, Esdaile, and Donnadieu Collections. 
 
 c. Copy by Wenzel von Olmiitz, from the badly worn plate. 
 
 d. Reversed copy by Israel van Meckenem. 
 
 The impressions in the cabinets at Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin, are all 
 fine and all absolutely clean wiped, the one in Berlin somewhat rough, as if the 
 lines still had some bur. 
 
 The date, 1497, — the first found on Diirer's engravings, — fixes the position 
 in time of this plate, but its precise relation to other undated plates must remain 
 in doubt. (See the remarks under No. 13.) The modeling of the figures is, 
 indeed, very telling, producing a "fleshiness" that even the Eve of 1504 (see 
 No. 34 of this catalogue) does not share, but the laying of the lines is not nearly 
 as skilful, — or, it might be better to say, "set," — as in "The Penance of St. 
 John Chrysostom " (No. 7), which is earlier, and between the "Four Naked 
 Women" and " Tlie Virgin and Child with the Monkey" (No. 13), there is a 
 whole world of difference in the execution, not less than in the spirit which these 
 compositions breathe. 
 
 As to the meaning of the subject, the diversity of opinion is great and irrecon- 
 cilable, and finds expression in the various titles applied to it, viz. : " The Four 
 Witches," " Four Naked Women, or Sybils," " The Graces," and " The Judg- 
 ment of Paris." For the discussion of the questions involved, the student will 
 have to consult not only Thausing, but also AUihn, Bergau, Frimmel, Rosen- 
 berg, and Von Eye (see List of Books, etc.). The truth seems to be that Diirer 
 desired simply to utilize his studies of the nude female form, but that, as a con- 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 cession to the spirit of the age, he introduced death (in the form of the skull 
 and bone) and the devil, thus giving to the subject the moralizing air which 
 alone could make it palatable to his countrymen. This is also Anton Springer's 
 conclusion (" Diirer," p. 32). In connection with these additions, the composi- 
 tion might be interpreted as hinting at the frailty of female beauty, which fades 
 before death and leads to sin, and in this manner it would be brought, like 
 " The Promenade," into relationship with the idea which inspired the " Dance 
 of Death." It is not at all necessary to assume that the artist did this grudg- 
 ingly, since he remained thoroughly Northern and German at heart, despite the 
 Italian influences to which he had been subjected. Thode (Jahrbuch, III, p. 
 118, where the Bartsch numbers given are all wrong, however) finds remi- 
 niscences of the Venus of the Uffizi (the "Venus de' Medici"; see the photograph. 
 Supplementary Illustrations, No. I) in one of the figures of the group. It is diffi- 
 cult to follow him in this, as the comparison will show. Nevertheless, the 
 " Four Naked Women " evidently points to the influence of the antique received 
 by Diirer, not directly, probably, but through the medium of that mysterious 
 factor in his development, Jacopo de' Barbari. Looking at the " Four Naked 
 Women," one is struck by its relationship to the Italian's " Victory and 
 Fame," B 18, Kristeller 26 (see Supplementary Illustrations, No. IV), not only in 
 the conception of the female figure, but even in the technical qualities as shown 
 in the modeling of the flesh. And Jacopo's " Victory " again impresses one as 
 inspired by a back view of the " Capitoline Venus" (see Supplementary Illus- 
 trations, No. III). Jacopo cannot, indeed, have seen this very statue, but there 
 are many repetitions of the same type, one of which may have come under his 
 observation. It will be well to confess that there is always much temptation to 
 trace fanciful resemblances of this sort. Still, the general similarity in the con- 
 ception, and the special similarity in the arrangement of the hair of the " Capi- 
 toline Venus" and of Jacopo's " Victory " (which in Diirer's figure has naturally 
 undergone still further change), seem to lend some coloring to the suggestion 
 made. Absolute copying, as a matter of course, is quite out of the question. 
 In all these cases reminiscences' only are involved, — reminiscences kept vivid 
 by a desire to enter into the spirit of antiquity. 
 
 If the sequence of the plates here adopted is correct, this is the third attempt 
 of Diirer to treat the naked female figure, a problem which occupied his atten- 
 tion for many years. In the first plate, " The Penance of St. John Chrysos- 
 tom" (No. 7), the treatment is conventional. The second, "The Little For- 
 tune" (No. 9), is evidently a study from nature. The figures in the present 
 plate are also naturalistically treated, even in the heads. In the plates which 
 follow we have again idealization. 
 
 15 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 15 THE DREAM.— B 76 ; H 854 ; R 1 16 ; M 24.— Monogram. 
 
 Very fine impression. Black ink, clean wiped. From the Donnadieu 
 Collection. 
 
 The fine impressions in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin are all printed in 
 black ink, clean wiped. In London there is also a counterproof. 
 
 Heller assigns this plate to 1500-06. Retberg, misled by his Pirkheimer 
 theory (see below), places it about 1507. There is no reason, however, why 
 it should not belong to the same period as the " Four Naked Women," although 
 it is idealistic, or conventional, in the treatment of the female figure, as opposed 
 to the naturalistic treatment in the previous plate, the artist having been influ- 
 enced, probably, by his theoretical studies. The modeling of the flesh shows 
 greater technical skill than in the " Four Women," but is not as telling. 
 
 This is another of the much discussed plates, and those who are interested in 
 the Wolgemut theory will do well to look up Thausing (I, pp. 209 and 210). 
 The titles given to it are " Idleness," " The Doctor's Dream," " The Dream 
 Doctor," and " The Dream of the Podagrist." Heller most prosaically reduces 
 it to the representation of the effect of the heat of a stove, which inflames the 
 imagination of the dreamer. Retberg conjectures that it is a joke at Pirk- 
 heimer's expense, in continuation of the somewhat indelicate insinuations in 
 Diirer's letters to him from Venice : — The devil still makes him dream of love, 
 but Cupid tries in vain to walk on stilts, and his luck with the ladies has de- 
 serted him, as signified by the ball of Fortune, lying forgotten in a comer. 
 Vasari speaks of it as " representing a man sleeping in a bath-room, while 
 Venus is behind him inspiring his dreams with temptation, and Love, mounted 
 on stilts, capers and sports around him, while the Devil blows into his ear with 
 a pair of bellows." According to Thausing it is " a pictorial satire on senile 
 lust," not addressed to Pirkheimer in particular (who, born in 1470, was not 
 " senile " at the time), but to mankind in general. Diirer's studies of the nude, 
 in connection with the desire to convert them into pictures, and with the moral- 
 izing tendencies of the age, are sufficient to furnish the motive, whatever the 
 meaning. Thode (Jahrbuch, III, p. 118) sees in the female figure a Venus, 
 and thinks that its forms and proportions are inconceivable without the influence 
 of the antique. It certainly quite closely resembles in pose the " Eve " (see No. 
 37), in which the influence of the antique has also been traced. 
 
 16 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 16 THE RAPE OF AMYMONE.— B 71; H 8oi; R 125; 
 M 20. — Monogram, 
 
 a. Very good impression, warmish black ink, absolutely clean wiped. 
 
 b. Also a good impression, although probably later than a. Printed 
 in a softer, warm ink, clean wiped, and therefore quite delicate. 
 
 c. Reversed copy, by Johannes Ladenspelder van Essen, according to 
 Nagler, " Monogrammisten," III, p. 994, No. 2614. 
 
 Fine impressions in London, Paris, and Berlin, in black ink, clean wiped, 
 that in London rather warmish. This last is especially rich, and seems to show 
 traces of the bur left by the graver. 
 
 Good impressions from this plate, like a, produce something of the sugges- 
 tion of color, which is due, however, rather to the variety of objects and forms, 
 — landscape, buildings, water, the body of the woman, the scaly merman, — than 
 to a conscious striving after variety of texture for the sake of color, although 
 there is an attempt in that direction noticeable in the different treatment of the 
 bodies of the woman and the merman. 
 
 Retberg assigns the plate to about 1509, Heller to 1500-06, Grimm (Jahr- 
 buch II, p. 189) to "the very first years after 1500," with reference to a draw- 
 ing dated 1503. A comparison of the workmanship with that of " The Coat- 
 of-Arms with the Skull" (No. 30 of this catalogue), which is dated 1503, shows 
 that the " Amymone " must be considerably earlier. It seems hardly to admit of 
 doubt, moreover, that the four plates here numbered 14 to 17 form a closely 
 related group. (See Introduction, p. xvii.) 
 
 It is generally conceded that it is this print to which Diirer alludes in the 
 diary of his journey to the Netherlands, as " The Sea Wonder " (" Das Meer- 
 wunder"); an old anonymous Nuremberg writer calls it "The Sea Robber"; 
 Vasari describes it as "a nymph borne away by a sea monster, while 
 other nymphs are seen bathing." The title generally accepted to-day is 
 the one above given. " This representation," says Heller, however, " does 
 not quite agree with the history of the Triton carrying off one of the fifty 
 daughters of Danaus; we think rather that it is intended to represent the 
 story of Glaucus carrying off Syme, and the man crying out in the distance 
 is probably Glaucus when he was still a fisherman and about to throw 
 himself into the sea, where he was changed into a Triton, as which he carried off 
 Syme, and brought her to an island not far from Caria." The remedy proposed 
 in this case seems as bad as the disease. The subject is one of those in which 
 
 17 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 Durer shows the influence of the anticjue, transmitted, possibly, through Man- 
 tegna, whose " Battle of the Tritons" he copied in 1494. Thausing (I, p. 215) 
 tliinks that the author (Wolgemut, according to him) had in his mind the idea 
 of a Nereid borne by a Triton, as seen on ancient sarcophagi. Anton Springer 
 (" Diirer," p. 30) objects to all of this, and says that if we could see the antique 
 myths with the eyes of the sixteenth century, we would find in this plate the one 
 which Diirer calls " Hercules " in his diary. " It is very difficult, indeed," he 
 continues, " to recognize Hercules in the fat old Turk who is running helplessly 
 hither and thither on the further side of the broad stream, while Dejaneira is com- 
 fortably resting in the arms of a water-god on the nearer side. But, after all, 
 this ridiculous transformation of the scene is no greater than that in many pic- 
 tures of the sixteenth century which represent the Judgment of Paris." This 
 hypothesis would be quite attractive if it were not for the fact that there is no 
 other print of Durer's which might possibly be called " The Sea Wonder." 
 
 \7 HERCULES — B 73; H 815; R 126; M 16.— Monogram. 
 
 a. Unfinished trial proof. Reproduction by photogravure. 
 
 b. Very beautiful impression from the finished plate. Black ink, 
 clean wiped. Watermark, the high crown, Hausmann, No. 4. From the 
 Verstolk Collection. 
 
 c. Modern copy. 
 
 Beautiful impressions in London and Berlin. The one in Paris is framed, 
 and cannot, therefore, be satisfactorily seen. In Dresden there are two, a 
 black and a brown one, the lines in the latter sharper and much more delicate 
 than in the former, — in consequence, undoubtedly, of the different consistency 
 of the ink. 
 
 The figures in this composition are again conventional rather than realistic, 
 under the influence of Italian art (see below). The workmanship resembles 
 that of the preceding plate, but is more delicate and elegant. The texture is 
 uniform, the effect of variety being due, as before, to the variety of the objects 
 represented, — flesh, drapery, foliage, buildings, etc. The plate is remarkable, 
 however, for the spaciousness of the landscape, and the gradation in the group 
 of trees, which grows lighter towards the top, and suggests different planes by 
 different degrees of gray. On the whole, it is the most pleasing bit of landscape 
 engraved by Diirer. 
 
 Unfinished proofs, i. e., trial proofs, are known to exist from two of Durer's 
 plates, — this and the " Adam and Eve " (No. 34). They show his curious and 
 assured method of proceeding, — not carrying the whole of the plate forward 
 
 18 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 by degrees, but finishing one part after another. The only two known trial 
 proofs from the " Hercules " plate are in the Berlin Cabinet (pure black ink, clean 
 wiped) and in the Albertina at Vienna. The reproduction here shown, from 
 the impression in Berlin, was published by the International Chalcographical 
 Society in its series for 1886, No. 11. 
 
 Retberg assigns the plate to 1509; Heller to 1500-06; Hausmann after 
 the Venetian journey of 1506. The workmanship, however, dehcate as it is, 
 and the monogram point to an earlier date. The plate evidently belongs to 
 the group formed by Nos. 14 to 17. 
 
 This is one of the most enigmatical of the prints which go under Diirer's 
 name. It is called also " The Great Satyr" (to distinguish it from "The Little 
 Satyr," or " Satyr's Family," No. 37 of this catalogue), " Jealousy," " The 
 Effects of Jealousy," and " The Great Hercules " (to avoid confusion with 
 " The Great Horse," No. 39, which seems sometimes to have been called " The 
 Little Hercules"). The title "Hercules" is given to it by general consent, 
 because Diirer alludes to one of his plates by that name in his Netherlands 
 diary. That Springer claims this title for the " Rape of Amymone " has already 
 been stated (No. 16). According to him, the composition represents " some 
 love afiair of the gods," the details of which we of to-day are unable to define. 
 Vasari describes it as " Diana inflicting punishment on one of her nymphs, 
 who is flying for shelter to the bosom of a Satyr." Some modern commen- 
 tators explain it as an allegory, in which the figure of the man stands as the 
 personification of cocuage, — is, in fact, a cuckold, marked as such by his helmet 
 in the shape of a cock (in allusion to the German Hahnrei, a man deceived by 
 an unfaithful wife) and the horns (in allusion to the German saying " to put 
 horns on a man's head," which makes of him a Hahnrei). In his debasement 
 he even defends his own wife, in the embrace of the satyr, against Virtue, who 
 is about to chastise her. The scurrility of this explanation is sufficient to defeat 
 it. AUihn, in his attempt to explain Diirer's compositions from the general 
 tendency of his age, connects it with the immorality then prevailing. " Ac- 
 cordingly," he says (p. 75), "the action of the allegory would be as follows: 
 Unchastity, represented by the satyr and the reclining naked woman, ought to 
 be driven away ; but she is defended by the evil desires of the man. We have 
 here a curtain-lecture delivered by Diirer to his dissolute contemporaries in the 
 name of their neglected wives." The explanation, though more dignified, is 
 hardly more satisfactory than the one first cited. Diirer probably knew what 
 he was about when he called his engraving " Hercules," and the difficulties it 
 presents are due no doubt to the confusion of ideas and the lack of knowledge 
 regarding ancient myths alluded to in the Introduction (p. iv). For the 
 attempts to reconcile the design with the versions of the story of Hercules, 
 Nessus, and Dejaneira, as known to us, as well as for the evidence that the 
 
 19 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 earlier artists of the Renaissance did not clearly distinguish between centaurs 
 and satyrs, see Thausing (I, pp. 222, 223), Sallet (pp. 17-20), and Ephrussi 
 (pp. 29, 30). There is a drawing by Diirer, unhesitatingly accepted as genuine 
 by all writers on the subject, which represents Orpheus attacked by the 
 Bacchantes, and is dated 1494 (see the facsimile. Supplementary Illustrations, 
 No. VI). This drawing is evidently based upon an old Florentine engraving 
 of the so-called Baldini-Botticelli group, representing the same subject, with 
 some differences (see the facsimile published by the International Chalcograph- 
 ical Society, Supplementary Illustrations, No. V). That the Florentine en- 
 graver is the originator and Diirer the copyist seems to be the opinion generally 
 held, although the reverse is stated in Meyer's " Lexikon" (II, p. 588). In its 
 turn, the engraving called "Hercules" is again based on Diirer's drawing of 
 1494, as becomes evident from the figure of the woman about to strike, from 
 the figure of the child, and from the group of trees. 
 
 18 THE MAN OF SORROWS STANDING WITH ARMS 
 EXTENDED — B 20; H 450; R 90; M 26.— Monogram. 
 
 Very fine impression. Black ink, clean wiped, on very warm-toned 
 paper. Watermark, large bull's head. 
 
 Heller, 1486-1500; Thausing (I, pp. 227, 228): "The exaggerated anatomy, 
 the bad drawing of the head and eyes, and the feebleness in the use of the 
 burin, are so striking that we are tempted to put the work before the year 
 1497, and to look upon the monogram in the corner as a later insertion." Per 
 contra: Retberg, about 1507; Hausmann, about 1512; Middleton, "latter 
 part of 1497." According to Grimm (Jahrbuch, II, p. 190), it suggests the 
 influence of Signorelli. (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 \9 ST. SEBASTIAN TIED TO A TREE.— B 55; H 787; 
 
 R 16; M 27. — Monogram on a piece of paper. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 b. Not as rich as a in general effect, which is partly due to the whitish 
 tint of the paper. Lines duplicated below. From the Ruhl and Peoli 
 Collections. 
 
 Retberg, before 1497; Heller, 1486-1500; Hausmann, first period, and simi- 
 larly Von Eye; Middleton " in the latter part of 1497." Grimm (Jahrbuch, II, 
 
 20 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 p. 190) says the figure points to Signorelli. Thausing on the contrary writes 
 (I, pp. 308, 309) : " The St. Sebastian . . . was no doubt designed directly from 
 a model, and perhaps in rivalry with a corresponding figure of Barbari's in his 
 excellent group of the ' Captives.' Diirer has not, however, managed to attain 
 that finely felt fidelity to nature which so favorably distinguishes this engraving 
 of the Italian, although he has recourse to such little naturalistic expedients as 
 showing the hair on the legs." (See a reproduction of Barbari's " Captives," 
 Supplementary Illustrations, No. VII.) (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 20 ST. SEBASTIAN TIED TO A COLUMN.— B 56; H 783; 
 R 17; M 22. — Monogram on a piece of paper. 
 
 Good impression, with the corrected mouth. Absolutely clean wiped. 
 Duplicate from the University Library, Cambridge. 
 
 Retberg, before 1497; Heller, 1486-1500. Thausing (I, p. 227) places this 
 among the first original plates done by Diirer. The character of the head and 
 the proportions of the figure strongly resemble, as Thausing remarks, the angels 
 in the "Apocalypse," the first edition of which was published in the year 1498. 
 The plate is a puzzle, and it may be that it is not worth while to take any 
 trouble in regard to it. (See the remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 Bartsch describes two states of this plate, — before the correction of the 
 mouth and after the correction. There are, however, still other differences, as 
 shown by two impressions in the cabinet at Berlin. In the earlier of these, the 
 little triangular spot in the upper left-hand corner, outside of the arch, is filled 
 with two systems of lines crossing one another. In the second and later impres- 
 sion there is only one set of lines in the place indicated, following the curve of 
 the arch, and the whole plate has been retouched, the faint old lines showing 
 alongside of the heavy new ones, so as to produce somewhat the effect of 
 duplication. The outline is also much heavier, and shows a duplication, by a 
 slip of the graver, at about the middle of the left side. On the right side a bit 
 has been cut off, so that less of the stone is seen than in the early proofs. In 
 the retouched impressions, furthermore, the cross-hatching on the cheek of the 
 saint, to right of the lock of hair which covers the ear, has been carried down to 
 below this lock. There may even be a still earlier state than these two, with 
 the triangular space left white, but this surmise is based for the present on a 
 reproduction only. These remarks are not inspired by a desire to manufacture 
 " states." To the collector such external marks of priority are of value, more 
 especially so long as prints remain an object of trade. 
 
 21 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 2J THE TURKISH FAMILY.— B 85; H 971; R 12; M 12. 
 
 — Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine, brilliant impression. Slightly warmish black ink, clean 
 wiped. 
 
 b. Late impression, from the worn plate. 
 
 Retberg, before 1495; Heller, 1486-1500; Middleton, "executed early in 
 1496." Thausing (I, p. 308) thinks that Diirer, when he engraved this design, 
 must have had in mind two of Jacopo de' Barbari's plates, B 10 and 11 (Kris- 
 teller, Nos. 16 and 17), and that he combined them in his own plate. It is 
 impossible to escape the conviction that this is an exceedingly far-fetched 
 hypothesis. The great staring eyes of the figures, according to the same writer, 
 " betray the early origin of the engraving, and the elegant pose of the woman's 
 legs points to a foreign inspiration." There is a family resemblance in this 
 Turk to the one in the "Five Footsoldiers," etc. (No. 3 of this catalogue). 
 The Turks at the time claimed a large share of public attention, owing to their 
 rapid advance as conquerors, and such plates as this were, therefore, likely to 
 be salable. 
 
 Called also " The Oriental and his Wife," " The Turk and his Wife," and " The 
 Wandering Turkish Family." (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 22 THE COOK AND HIS WIFE.— B 84; H 963; R 10; M 13. 
 
 — Monogram. 
 
 Very fine impression. Pure black ink, clean wiped. A trifle blurred 
 in the head of the man, which seems generally to be the case. From the 
 Balmanno Collection. 
 
 Retberg, before 1495; Heller, 1500-06; Middleton, "executed early in 
 1496." Hausmann deduces from the workmanship and the simple treatment of 
 the ground that the plate belongs to a later period. The type of the figures, 
 especially of the woman, and the monogram, point to an early time. Thausing 
 (I, p. 225), in accordance with his general theory about many of Diirer's early 
 plates, opines that it is a copy after Wolgemut. But it is difficult to see why, 
 if Jacopo de' Barbari's influence is to be traced in the woman in " The Turkish 
 Family" (No. 21), the same influence should not be seen also in the woman in 
 this engraving. 
 
 22 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 Called also " The Hostess and the Cook," " The Cook and the House- 
 keeper," and " Mohammed and his Wife," the latter, impossible as it may seem, 
 " because," according to Heller, " the dove sits upon the back of the cook, and 
 it is said that a divine dove often alighted upon his [Mohammed's] shoulders, 
 and communicated to him his religious system." Might it be a piece of Diirer- 
 esque humor, to be interpreted as a caricature of Mohammed, as a man given to 
 worldly lusts, and therefore thinking of nothing but cooking and women, even while 
 he is listening to the pretended divine message ? (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 23 THE PEASANT AND HIS WIFE.— B 83; H 921; R 11; 
 
 M 14, — Monogram. 
 
 Fine impression, black ink, clean wiped. Paper rather dull, which re- 
 duces the brilliancy the impression would otherwise have. Cut about 
 one eighth of an inch on right side. 
 
 Retberg, before 1495; Heller, i486 -1500; Middleton, "executed early in 
 1496." 
 
 There is much diversity in the attempted interpretation of this print. Bartsch 
 says that " the anger expressed in the peasant's face, and his elevated right hand, 
 show that he menaces the woman who walks meekly by his side." Heller fol- 
 lows him, with the addition that he sees in the companion of the peasant a wo- 
 man about to become a mother. An idea similar to Bartsch's is expressed in 
 the title " The Drunken Lansquenet," while, by way of contrast, others see in 
 the couple a pair of " Rustic Lovers." Thausing (I, p. 309) adopts the latter 
 title, and declares the print to be a skit upon the conceit of the peasantry, an 
 idea elaborated before him by AUihn (p. 79, etc.), who says that the pair " is 
 about to step up to the dance, and that the man, far from scolding, is on the 
 contrary trying to make himself agreeable." (See also No. 24, and the remarks 
 under No. 26.) 
 
 24 THE THREE PEASANTS IN CONVERSATION.— B 86 ; 
 
 H 948; R 15; M 15. — Monogram. 
 
 a. A briUiant impression, as the phrase goes, but really somewhat too 
 full, although clean wiped. Pure black ink. From the Fisher Collection. 
 
 b. An even finer impression than a, because not so full. Its brilliancy 
 is, however, again somewhat impaired, like that of No. 23, by the dull- 
 
 23 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 ness of the paper. Pure black ink. Duplicate from the Kunsthalle at 
 Hamburg. 
 
 Retberg, about 1495; Heller, 1500-06; Middleton, " executed early in 1496." 
 Allihn says the print is dated 15 19, which is a mistake. 
 
 Like the preceding plate, this is supposed to be a skit upon the conceit of the 
 peasantry. "The same ironical tone is apparent in the three peasants in con- 
 versation," says Thausing (I, p. 309), " one of whom holds a basket of eggs, and 
 another has a sack thrown over his shoulders and is leaning upon a somewhat 
 damaged sword; no doubt they are discussing the affairs of the universe." To 
 similar purpose Allihn (p. 90) : " They wear spurs, swords, and belted tunics, a 
 costume which is not theirs by right, and which they have borrowed from the 
 wardrobe of the knights. Nevertheless, the peasant crops out everywhere. The 
 scabbards of their swords are defective, and here and there a naked knee peeps 
 through the hose. Of course it is only a bagatelle that is in question, but they 
 discuss it with fervor, as if the weal of the Fatherland depended upon it." The 
 attempts of the oppressed peasants to better their miserable condition were a ^ 
 topic of interest at the time. As early as 1476 risings occurred in South Ger- 
 many, and these finally culminated in the Peasants' War in 1525. As usual, 
 the just demands of the oppressed were met by scorn and derision, and it is 
 likely enough that Diirer, like other artists, tried to make money out of this sad 
 condition of things. If we regret this side of Durer's activity, we may, how- 
 ever, temper our regret by the following considerations, advanced by Allihn 
 (p. 88) : " In these scenes of peasant life Diirer also is in curious discord with 
 himself It is true, he joins in the general derision of the peasants, he engraves 
 his plate for those who found pleasure in testing their superior wit at the expense 
 of the peasants, and who would have been as contented, if not more so, with 
 the most scurrilous caricature, but it was impossible for Diirer to demand such 
 a production of his genius. He draws a character-picture of superior comic 
 qualities, but not a libel, — yea, even more than this, he executes his gerire repre- 
 sentation with the same loving care as his most beautiful Madonna." This ap- 
 plies more especially to the "Dancing Peasants" (No. 73 of this catalogue), 
 but the humor is claimed for all of Diirer's similar subjects. To our very mod- 
 ern eyes there is, indeed, little or no humor in these groups. It must not be 
 forgotten, however, that the people of the fifteenth century were differently con- 
 stituted from ourselves, and were delighted by what to us would be utterly un- 
 interesting, as the child finds amusement where the grown-up man finds only 
 ennui. 
 
 Passavant says that the plate still exists, having been bought in the year 1852, 
 in a badly worn condition, by the Prince Dolgorouky. This, however, does not 
 tally with Heller (p. 492, No. 948). (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 24 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 25 ST. ANN AND THE VIRGIN.— B 29; H 483; R 44; 
 
 M 28. — Mono'gram on a square tablet. 
 
 Fine impression on deep-toned paper. Black ink, practically clean 
 wiped, with only very little tinting, probably accidental, in the lower 
 part. From the Firmin-Didot Collection. 
 
 Retberg, before 1500; Heller, 1486-1500; Middleton, " 1498 or early in 1499." 
 
 The subject is in doubt. The figure to the right may be the Virgin holding 
 the infant Christ, while St. Ann stands to the left. Bartsch describes the group 
 as St. Ann touching the head of the infant Virgin, held in the arms of a woman 
 with flying hair. According to Retberg, St. Mary is " so wanting in nobility of 
 form and pose that one is tempted to take her for a low-grade servant, and the 
 child in her arms for the infant Virgin." Hausmann, on the contrary, thinks 
 the print " lovely." Thausing (I, p. 309) speaks of the subject as "a simple, 
 homely scene, such as might have been accidentahy suggested ; indeed, the two 
 women standing in bourgeois attire would hardly be recognized for what they 
 are but for the appearance of the Almighty Father in the clouds." As Diirer 
 was evidently engaged at the time in studies from the nude and from life among 
 peasants, etc., it is quite possible that he utilized one of these studies, merely 
 adding the vision in the sky to adapt it for sale as a popular religious image. 
 (See remarks under No. 26.) 
 
 26 THE STANDARD-BEARER.— B 87 ; H 977 ; R 43 ; M 30. 
 
 — Monogram on a tablet. 
 
 Very beautiful impression, black ink, absolutely clean wiped, 
 
 Retberg, before 1500; Heller, 1500-06; Hausmann, after 1506; Thausing 
 (I, p. 234) : " Evidently an early original work of Diirer's, the St. Andrew's Cross 
 of the Golden Fleece on the standard, which belonged to Maximilian I as Duke 
 of Burgundy, pointing without doubt to the war of 1499." 
 Called also " The Ensign." 
 
 A possible, and perhaps not improbable, reason for the fact that these small 
 plates of rehgious and popular imagery, Nos. 18-26, follow immediately upon 
 the group of larger plates, Nos. 14-17, which deal with the nude and antique 
 myths, has been suggested in the Introduction (p. xviii), but it is more difficult to 
 say whether they really belong together in point of time, at least in so far as the 
 
 12 
 
 25 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 first three of the group are concerned. It will have been noticed that opinions 
 as to the place to be assigned to "The Man of Sorrows," No. i8, differ widely, 
 the years named ranging from before 1497 to about 1512. It must be confessed 
 that many good arguments may be brought forward in favor of this latter date. 
 It would bring the plate into close connection with the " Little Passion," with 
 which it conforms in height, although it does not share with this series its pic- 
 torial completeness, and in its handling seems to be earlier. Thausing's conten- 
 tion, that there is " feebleness in the use of the burin," cannot be allowed, how- 
 ever. One might rather speak of summary treatment. Similar doubts may be 
 raised in the case of No. 19, "St. Sebastian tied to a Tree." In size and in 
 execution it is identical with No. 18, and yet the opinions expressed in regard to 
 it are unanimous in placing it early. Acknowledging all the doubts, these plates 
 have been placed here in obedience to the majority of previous writers rather 
 than from positive conviction. No. 20, finally, offers quite as many difficulties, 
 but of a different order. That it has hardly any relationship to either No. 19 or 
 No. 21 is evident at first sight. It is conceived in an entirely different spirit, 
 even to the proportions of the body, which may be called disproportioned, es- 
 pecially as to size of head. Where is it to be placed then ? General consider- 
 ations, based on the conception and the workmanship, would tempt one to place 
 it close to No. 7, "The Penance of St. John Chrysostom," but the monogram 
 forbids that. To be sure, after the general character of this "trademark" of 
 Diirer's has once been settled, too much reliance must not be placed on the fact 
 whether the A is more or less spreading on top ; nevertheless, the monogram 
 on this " St. Sebastian," as well as its position on a sheet of paper, would be 
 quite out of keeping on the very earliest of Diirer's plates. Considering, more- 
 over, its resemblance to some of the figures in the " Apocalypse," it seemed best, 
 — for want of a better place ! — to assign it to one of the very last years of the 
 fifteenth century. It may be, however, that there is a much easier way of dis- 
 posing of this plate, — by rejecting it altogether. The incongruities it offers, in 
 the design, in the workmanship, in the character of the monogram (which finds 
 a counterpart only in No. 36 of this catalogue), are sufficient to arouse suspi- 
 cions which it would be difficult to reconcile before a legal tribunal. The 
 bad drawing of the mouth in the first state, its correction in the second, 
 the changes made in the upper left corner, — all these are quite foreign to 
 Durer, and might be made to tell as evidences of forgery. Certainly Diirer's 
 oeuvre would lose nothing if the plate were thrown out. As regards Nos. 21-26, 
 we are fortunately no longer beset by such an array of doubts. They evidently 
 belong together, and in the sequence in which they are here arranged they 
 show a steady development of the same method, — the somewhat set regularity 
 of line, heretofore noticeable only in No. 7, but which becomes more and 
 more evident in Diirer's work as the years pass on. 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 The impressions from all these plates in the public collections of Paris, Lon- 
 don, Dresden, and Berlin are printed in the old style, — that is to say, in pure 
 black ink, clean wiped, — such tinting as there is being evidently accidental. 
 
 27 THE LADY AND THE LANSQUENET.— B 82; H 991 ; 
 
 R 20; M 19. — Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine dark impression, pure black ink, quite clean wiped. Pa- 
 per somewhat soiled and mended. Cut above and below. 
 
 b. Beautiful silvery impression, very delicate. Clean wiped, except 
 slight tinting in the saddlecloth and on ground to left. Watermark, high 
 crown, Hausmann, No. 21. 
 
 c. Late impression, from the worn plate. 
 
 d. Copy by Jerome Wierix ; Alvin, No. 1577. Second state, marked 
 "iE 12," indicating that it was done when the engraver was twelve years 
 old. 
 
 The two impressions a and b are very interesting, as showing differences due to 
 printing. The plate was evidently still in the very best condition when both 
 these impressions were taken, but for b a softer ink was used, which, in con- 
 junction with very careful clean-wiping and real " tinting," produced the delicacy. 
 Impression b must, therefore, be later than a ; and it points to the general con- 
 clusion that, contrary to the hitherto received opinion, the silvery impressions 
 are later than the dark ones. The proofs in Paris, London, and Dresden are all 
 clean wiped, while the one in Berlin shows tinting in the saddlecloth, like b. 
 
 This plate belongs to the same group with Nos. 21-26, but the elaborate 
 landscape background makes it more complete pictorially, and gives it the ap- 
 pearance of greater variety and richness, despite the uniformity in its delicate 
 graver work, which it shares with its predecessors. 
 
 Called also " The Lady on Horseback." The subject might simply be classed 
 with the studies from life before alluded to, but the attempt has been made to 
 invest it with a deeper interest. Heller thinks " the pair is on its way to a 
 tournament." According to Allihn (pp. 71, 72) " the subject in itself is perfectly 
 clear; it is the old story, treated hundreds of times, of the lady in love with her 
 squire." He admits that Durer probably desired merely to draw a young man- 
 at-arms and a lady on horseback, in the picturesque costume of the time, but 
 argues that the moralizing tendency of his age compelled him to give a meaning 
 
 27 
 
 > 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 to the subject. He therefore made it a protest " against the vices of the nobil- 
 ity, a tendency which must have secured to him the applause of the bourgeois 
 circles for which he worked." 
 
 28 JUSTICE.— B 79; H 826; R 51 ; M 17.— Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, black ink, clean wiped, on whitish paper. 
 
 b. Very rich impression, not quite as transparent as a. The fine warm 
 color of the paper helps the effect of richness. The ink left standing on 
 the plate is not " tinting," properly so called. The " tint " is spotty, and 
 here and there produces a sort of fringe, extending outside of the darks. 
 From the St. Aubyn, Maberley, and Fisher Collections. 
 
 The impressions in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin are all printed in fine 
 black ink, clean wiped, only the one in Dresden showing a very little tinting. 
 
 Judging by workmanship, monogram, and size of plate, this print stands in 
 close relation to those immediately preceding, although it is more elaborate in 
 execution. Retberg and Thausing, before 1505; Heller, 1500-06; Haus- 
 mann, after 1506; Middleton, 1496. The date last named is certainly too early. 
 It would place the plate before the " Four Naked Women " (No. 14), dated 
 1497. 
 
 Often called " Nemesis," but Diirer himself evidently applied this name to 
 the large print, No. 33 of this catalogue. According to Thausing (I, p. 310) 
 we have here the Judge of the World, " put together at random from a variety 
 of apocalyptic reminiscences." The sentiment of the "Apocalypse" designs 
 is certainly very strongly felt in it. A preliminary drawing is reproduced by 
 Lippmann, No. 203. 
 
 29 THE VIRGIN NURSING THE CHILD.— B 34; H 564; R 
 
 52; M 36, — Monogram. The second state has the 
 
 DATE, 1503, ON A TABLET. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, rich black ink, clean wiped, except some 
 tinting in the lower part. Soiled, torn, and mended, with false margin, 
 and retouched with India ink all around. With the date. From the 
 Balmanno Collection. 
 
 b. Copy by Jan Wierix ; Alvin, No. 624, second state. 
 
 28 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 The impressions in Paris, London, and Dresden (Cabinet), and one of those in 
 Berlin, are all printed in fine black ink, generally speaking clean wiped, yet with 
 more or less tinting in the close work. In the Collection Frederic Augustus II, 
 also in Dresden, there is an impression in warmish ink, very clean wiped, and 
 therefore delicate. The face, however, is defective, which may be due to the 
 wearing of the plate, or to the wiping of the ink out of the finest and shallowest 
 lines. Of the three impressions in Berlin, — one in the first state, two in the 
 second, — the two latter, although printed in black ink, are likewise defective 
 in the face. 
 
 In the first state, the tablet with the date and the tree on which it hangs are 
 wanting. It has been conjectured that these evidences of the second state were 
 artificially removed from the impression in the Berlin Cabinet, but careful ex- 
 amination fails to disclose evidences of scratching. 
 
 The date on this plate, — 1503, — is the second earliest to be found on Diirer's 
 engravings, the earliest being 1497, on the "Four Naked Women" (No. 14). 
 It is an unsatisfactory and a puzzling plate, to which it is difficult to assign a 
 place, in spite of its date. In closeness of work, and in pictorial effect, except 
 for the sky, which is simply white paper, it strikes one as a forerunner of the 
 " Little Passion " (Nos. 46-61). But it is not as satisfactory artistically, and is 
 more archaic m feeling. The line work in the face is so mechanical that doubts 
 arise in the mind as to its authenticity. The most satisfactory way to dispose 
 of it would be to reject it as a forgery, together with the " St. Sebastian 
 tied to a Column" (No. 20), but it would require courage to do that! Vasari 
 mentions it (Mrs. Foster's translation, III, p. 487) : " In the year 1503, Albert 
 Diirer sent forth to the world a small figure of the Madonna, in which he sur- 
 passed both Martin and himself," and there are copies by Zoan Andrea, Jan 
 Wierix, Ouerrat (Cologne, sixteenth century), and others. But the forgers 
 were early at work, and the fact that Diirer " surpassed" himself, that is to say, 
 that the plate is more " set " in workmanship than any of his other plates, as 
 well as the two "states," and the difficulty ofreconciUng the workmanship with 
 the other plates of the same period, are all against it. The place apart which 
 it holds is expressed even in Mr. Cust's high praise (p. 36) : "The Virgin and 
 Child [of 1503] is one of the sweetest and tenderest renderings of the subject 
 which Diirer produced, and also one of his best engravings." 
 
 29 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 30 THE COAT- OF- ARMS WITH THE SKULL.— B loi ; H 
 
 I022 ; R 53; M 34. — Monogram on a tablet, dated 1503. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, black ink, a trifle too full in the darks, on 
 almost white paper. From the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch. 
 
 b. Impression very similar to a, perhaps a trifle less full, and on warmer 
 paper, and therefore softer in effect. From the Fisher Collection, 
 
 c. Again very similar to the preceding impressions, but on paper 
 somewhat darker in tone. 
 
 The three very similar impressions exhibited are specially interesting, as showing 
 the difference in effect produced by slight variations in the tone of the paper. 
 There is no tinting in either of the three, but proofs with tinting in the ground 
 and in the close work on the left side are frequently met with. The fine impres- 
 sions in Paris, London, and Berlin (this latter rather too full, so that the closest 
 work in the helmet and its crest is filled) all have tinting in the lower left cor- 
 ner. In Dresden, on the contrary, there is an absolutely clean-wiped impres- 
 sion, but not quite sound in parts. Of the two impressions in the Gray Col- 
 lection, Boston, the best also shows some tinting in lower left corner. It is 
 necessary that the proofs from this plate should not be too full in the helmet, as 
 the " brilliancy " gained causes a loss in the metallic effect. 
 
 The handling is of Diirer's firmest, akin to that displayed in the " Little Pas- 
 sion." It is quite simple, however, and the varied effect produced is again due, 
 as pointed out in several earlier plates, to variety of forms and objects, rather 
 than to variety of texture. 
 
 Called also "The Coat-of-Arms of Death" and "The Dying Bride." A 
 much discussed print, which, however difficult it may be to-day to follow the 
 wandering fancy of the artist, it would seem safe to connect in a general way 
 with the idea of" The Dance of Death," although the " wild man " is evidendy 
 not a personification of Death, but a satyr, as his right leg, visible to the left, 
 clearly shows. Frimmel, however, objects to this explanation, but without be- 
 ing able to suggest anything better. Middleton says of this print and its mate, 
 No. 31, that they are " probably symbolical, the one (i. e. No. 31) of the antici- 
 pated success, the other (/. e. No. 30) of the failure of the campaign into Switz- 
 erland." This suggestion is not, however, Hkely to be generally accepted. The 
 Swiss war took place in the year 1499, and " The Coat-of-Arms with the Cock " 
 would therefore have to be placed in that year, or earlier. 
 
 30 
 
 \ 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 3J THE COAT-OF-ARMS WITH THE COCK— B loo; 
 H 1020; R 198; M 33. — Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine, brilliant impression, black ink. A trifle full in the closest 
 work. From the Brentano-Birckenstock Collection. 
 
 b. Very fine impression. Warmish ink, more open than a. Water- 
 mark, very curious and complicated, similar in outline to Hausmann, No. 
 44. From the Wilson Collection. 
 
 The choice among impressions dififering as do those here shown must necessarily 
 be a question of taste. Most assuredly b shows the work better, and is more 
 harmonious than a, but the warmer ink deprives it somewhat of " strength " and 
 "brilliancy," — if these should be the qualities sought. It is more than likely, 
 also, that the black impressions are the earlier ones. The fine impressions in 
 Paris and London are printed in black ink, not quite clean wiped. There is also 
 a very fine, wonderfully clean-wiped impression, showing every line clearly and 
 distinctly, in the Kunsthalle at Bremen, but unfortunately the paper has turned 
 quite yellow and is spotted. 
 
 " The Coat-of-Arms with the Cock " has always been admired as one of 
 Diirer's most delicate pieces of engraving. Retberg assigns it to about 1512 ; 
 Heller, 1507-14. According to Thausing it "belongs probably to the same 
 time with B loi," i. e. " The Coat-of-Arms with the Skull," which is dated 1503. 
 Middleton's theory (see No. 31) would throw it back to 1499 at the latest. It is 
 quite likely that it is even later than 1503. In its delicacy, it would harmonize 
 well with the " Apollo and Diana," No. 36, or the two " St. George," Nos. 42 and 
 43, one of which bears the date 1505, altered to 1508. However that may be, it 
 certainly belongs to the early part of the sixteenth century, and it has therefore 
 been left in the company of its mate, with which it has been so long associated. 
 
 Diirer drew many coats-of-arms for bookplates, etc., but this one seems to 
 be purely a creation of fancy. Heller suggests that it may be intended " sym- 
 bolically for the family of Fidelity and Watchfulness, which, however, seems 
 evidently to have died out." For Middleton's historical hypothesis, see No. 30. 
 
 31 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 32 ST. EUSTACE.— B 57; H 727; R 127; M 29.— Monogram 
 
 ON A SQUARE PIECE OF PAPER. 
 
 a. Delicate impression, with the darks all open, but a trifle unsound in 
 parts, and some tinting of the accidental kind in the lower corners. Very 
 curiously complicated watermark, differing from all those figured by 
 Hausmann. 
 
 b. Brilliant impression, the closely worked parts fairly open, otherwise 
 clean wiped. Watermark, high crown, Hausmann, No. 4. 
 
 c. Very similar in quality to b, but some of the darkest shadows filled. 
 
 d. Very fine, but dark impression, even in the distance. Watermark, 
 high crown, Hausmann, No. 4. 
 
 e. Modern copy. 
 
 The four impressions exhibited are all good, and they have been placed in the 
 order chosen, simply to show the gradation in the general effect. Impression a, 
 — which may possibly be later than the others, — is the most delicate, and the 
 progression is toward darkness, or, as some collectors would be inclined to say, 
 toward "brilliancy." Again, as in the case of No. 31, that is a matter of taste. 
 Evidently, however, so far as the distance is concerned, delicacy is preferable to 
 brilliancy. In a the distance holds its place fairly well ; in c it is as prominent 
 as the foreground. As to the printing, there is no conscious tinting in any of 
 these impressions. The ink left standing, for instance, toward both the lower 
 corners in a, is there by accident. In principle, the impression is clean wiped, 
 even in the closest parts. The other impressions are fuller and some of the darks 
 are filled, but there is no tinting. All four impressions are printed with black ink. 
 London has a brilliant black impression, but very much smudged in parts. In 
 Dresden there is a fine clean-wiped impression, also in pure black ink. The 
 two impressions in Berlin differ. One is in a cold black ink, clean wiped, and 
 therefore open throughout, the other is in a warmer black, with much tinting in 
 the close work, especially in the landscape distance, including the rock on 
 which the castle stands. The contrasts are subdued therefore, and the back- 
 ground acts more as a mass, while the warmer color gives a more agreeable 
 tone than the cold black of the impression first described. 
 
 Retberg, about 1509; Heller, 1507-14; Thausing: "The completion of the 
 engraving cannot be placed much earHer than the year 1504, although it was 
 certainly finished before the ' Nemesis.' " Middleton stands alone in assigning it 
 
 32 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 " to the latter part of the year 1498, or early in 1499." The delicacy of the ex- 
 ecution, and the evident prominence given to the horse, would seem to bear out 
 Thausing's suggestion, or to point even to a somewhat later period. About this 
 time Durer was specially interested in the horse. There are horses in this plate, 
 in the "Little Horse" (No. 38), the "Great Horse" (No. 39), both of these 
 dated 1505, and the " St. George on Horseback" (No. 42), in which Diirer 
 changed the date from 1505 to 1508. Gust (p. 50) places it "soon after his 
 [Diirer's] return from Italy," which would date it about 1507 to 1508, because 
 he finds a resemblance to one of Diirer's drawings marked " Ein Welsch 
 Schloss." This proves nothing, however, unless the first journey to Italy should 
 be rejected. Of the horses in the plates named that of St. Eustace is the most 
 wooden of all, and the " Little Horse " is not much better, while the two 
 later ones are noble beasts and much better posed. 
 
 Called also " St. Hubert." This is a mistake, however, as Diirer himself, in 
 the Netherlands Diary, repeatedly speaks of the engraving as " St. Eustace." 
 The legend of the saint is as follows : Eustace, or Placidus by his heathen name, 
 was a valorous general under the Emperor Trajan, and a passionate hunter. 
 While out hunting once, Christ crucified appeared to him between the ant- 
 lers of a stag and spoke to him, whereupon he and his whole family were con- 
 verted. A similar story is told of St. Hubert, hence the confusion. This being 
 the largest plate by Diirer, and most minutely finished, the older writers praise it 
 extravagantly, the only criticism ventured upon being that the background 
 might be lighter. Later opinions do not quite agree with this high estimate, 
 and Thausing is correct in saying (I, p. 300) that " invention and arrangement 
 are far surpassed by minute delicacy of technic and by careful execution of 
 each separate detail." The horse especially has been severely criticized. 
 
 33 NEMESIS— B 77; H 839; R 124; M 32.— Monogram on a 
 
 TABLET. 
 
 a. Very beautiful, brilliant impression. Black ink, generally speaking 
 clean wiped, filled up only here and there in the very darkest, most 
 closely worked parts. The perpendicular scratch under the bridge still 
 fresh, and therefore showing bur. Watermark, high crown, Hausmann, 
 No. 4. From the St. John Dent and the Holford Collections. 
 
 b. Good early impression, also with the fresh scratch, and on the same 
 paper as a. Too much ink has, however, been left standing in the lower 
 
 13 33 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 part, so that the closely worked parts, especially in the flying drapery 
 and on the back of the figure, are filled. 
 
 These two impressions are very instructive as showing what the printer can do 
 with a plate. The old clean-wipe method is exemplified by a, while b is an 
 early attempt at tinting, but not, as yet, quite successful. A trifle cleaner 
 wiping would have made b one of the most beautiful impressions in existence. 
 As it is, it illustrates the transition period of printing as practised by Durer and 
 his printers, — the development of " smudging," at first accidental, into " tint- 
 ing," completely under the control of the printer. The period is approaching 
 when this tinting is steadily and successfully applied. In London there is an 
 impression, with the scratch, in very black ink, somewhat similar to b, — brilliant, 
 but rather muddy. Not only is there much ink left standing in the fine work 
 on the back of the figure, but there is tinting also in the broad lights on 
 the breast and the right upper arm, as well as below the knee on the right leg 
 of the figure, on the flying drapery, and in the right lower corner. The 
 impression in Paris is framed. Dresden has a very fine impression, with 
 the scratch, black ink, clean wiped. Berlin is the fortunate possessor of 
 two impressions, one before the scratch, one with it. The first is very deli- 
 cate, printed in an ink which may hardly be called warm and is yet far 
 from being cold, quite clean and close wiped, so that even the closest, iriost 
 delicate lines in the rocks, including the cross-hatchings on the left, are seen 
 quite clearly. It may be noted that the perpendicular press scratches through 
 the floating drapery at the back of the figure, which are seen in some impres- 
 sions, are present also in this " first state." The second impression is also very 
 good, but much fuller and therefore not as delicate as the first one. Although 
 practically clean wiped, the close parts are not as clear, owing to the fullness 
 of the lines. This shows not only in the rocks, but also in the wings, the 
 drapery, and the figure itself As the paper is tolerably white, the contrasts are 
 rather unpleasantly strong. Nevertheless, the impression is a very fine one of 
 its kind. The ink used for both impressions seems to be about the same. 
 
 The impressions from this plate, without and with the perpendicular scratch 
 under the bridge, have been dignified by being called "first" and "second 
 state." The scratch is, however, nothing but an accident, which must have 
 happened after only a very few proofs had been taken, for the proofs without it 
 are of the rarest of the rare. Of the great public collections it would seem 
 that only the Berlin Cabinet, and, according to Passavant, the Staedel Institute 
 in Frankfort-on-the-Main, have these very early impressions. The curious in 
 such matters will note the dotted lines in and above the clouds on both sides. 
 They show how independently Diirer worked. Having transferred the design 
 to the plate in faint lines and dots (see the facsimiles of unfinished trial proofs 
 
 34 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 under Nos. 17 and 34), he, nevertheless, did not quite strictly adhere to them, 
 but made such changes as suggested themselves to him during the progress of 
 the work. He might, of course, have removed these dots with very little 
 trouble, but, with the carelessness of the artist, he did not think it worth his 
 while to bother about them. 
 
 Heller suggests 1507-14; Retberg, 1509; Thausing, about 1504; Middleton, 
 relying on the Swiss war theory, 1499-1503. About 1504 is probably the safest 
 estimate. The execution tallies with the delicacy and care bestowed on all of 
 the plates of this period. The remarkable difference between the uncompro- 
 mising realism of tliis figure and that of the idealistic Eve immediately follow- 
 ing (No. 34) does not stand in the way. Diirer vacillated between nature and 
 theory. A very similar example is furnished by No. 14, the naturalistic " Four 
 Naked Women," followed by the idealized figures in Nos. 15-17, presuming, 
 of course, that the sequence here adopted is correct. 
 
 There is a pen-and-ink sketch of the " Nemesis " in the British Museum, 
 which Springer (p. 165) and Ephrussi (p. 33) accept. Lippman, however, does 
 not reproduce it. 
 
 This print is generally called " The Great Fortune," to distinguish it from 
 "The Little Fortune" (No. 9 of this catalogue), but there is no doubt that 
 Diirer himself called it " Nemesis." The strangeness of the conception, and 
 the incongruity of the various elements of the design, — the extreme realism 
 of the repulsively ugly body, the wings, the globe, etc., — have given rise to 
 a number of most ridiculous attempts at explanation, connecting the figure 
 itself with Diirer's wife, the cup with his father, who was a goldsmith, the bridle 
 with his uncle, who was a saddler, and the landscape with his father's birth- 
 place, Eytas in Hungary, all of which must be dismissed with a mere allusion, 
 together with Thausing's more attractive hypothesis (I, p. 230 etc.) concern- 
 ing Pirkheimer and the Swiss war of 1499. The great stumbling-block has been 
 the impossibility of reconciling the attributes with the received conceptions of 
 either the Roman " Fortuna " or the Greek " Nemesis," and the apparent un- 
 willingness to accept the fact that Diirer, as well as his humanistic friends, was 
 himself not clear in his conception, and therefore mixed up several antique 
 ideas, thus producing a Fortuna-Nemesis, which he still further complicated 
 with conceits of his own (see Introduction, p. iv). Tiie best explanation of 
 the title chosen by Diirer is undoubtedly given by Rosenberg (Zeitschrift, IX, 
 pp. 254, 255). He calls attention to a passage in the " Praise of Folly," by 
 Erasmus, which runs thus : " Even Rhamnusia herself, who guides the fate of 
 human affairs, is so strong an adherent of mine [i. e., of Folly] that she has 
 always been inimical to the so-called wise men, while she has given to the fools 
 all the advantages, even in their sleep." This passage Holbein illustrated by 
 the figure of a naked woman showering gold upon a fool, while standing on a 
 
 35 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 globe which floats upon the water. " From the words of Erasmus," says 
 Rosenberg, "it follows that Rhamnusia, e., Nemesis, so called from her prin- 
 cipal place of worship in Attica, was identical with Fortuna as the goddess of 
 fate in its broadest meaning." The " Praise of Folly " and Holbein's figure, 
 drawn in 1515, are, of course, later than Diirer's " Nemesis," but they show 
 that the combination of ideas involved was not foreign to Diirer's time. Rosen- 
 berg further cites an epigram from the Greek " Anthology," as explaining the 
 attributes, at least in part, and calls attention to Dante's verses, " Inferno," 
 VII, 73-96, which do, indeed, express the same idea as that conveyed by 
 Diirer's design, but in a manner which the rude conception of the Northern 
 artist cannot hope to rival. 
 
 Mr. Ruskin's bitter allusion to the landscape under this " Nemesis" (see the 
 Appendix to his " Ariadne Florentina "), and his extraordinary comparison of 
 Diirer and Turner, compel a few words of comment here. The great English 
 theorist forgets or ignores the slight circumstance that Diirer lived and worked 
 in the sixteenth century, — did this landscape, in fact, at the very beginning of 
 that century, — and that landscape painting had not yet been invented, so to 
 speak, at the time, while Turner lived in the nineteenth century. Diirer may, 
 indeed, be ranked among the pioneers of landscape art, and it is curious that, 
 in the Netherlands, he cultivated more especially the friendship of Patenier (see 
 No. 108 of this catalogue), who is called the father of landscape art in the 
 Netherlands, and whom he describes as a " good landscape painter," thus 
 being the first, according to Thausing, to introduce this term into literature. 
 To understand how far in advance Diirer was in his landscape drawing, com- 
 pared with the old Florentines who are Mr. Ruskin's idols (and against whose 
 merits not a word is to be said), one need only compare his rendering of the 
 " Orpheus " with the original, as shown in this exhibition (see Supplementary 
 Illustrations, Nos. V and VI, and No. 17). 
 
 The study of his many landscape sketches, which, thanks to the admirable 
 reproductions made at the German Government Printing Office, Berlin, under 
 Professor Rose's skilful direction, and edited by Dr. Lippmann, are now easily 
 accessible, shows him, indeed, to have been far in advance of all his contempo- 
 raries, and even in advance of himself as we know him in his finished produc- 
 tions. Diirer working for himself, and Diirer working for the public, are two 
 entirely different beings. His landscape sketches in water-colors verge closely 
 upon the " impressionism " of to-day. But when he utilized these sketches for 
 popular purposes, he changed them and conventionalized them almost out of 
 recognition. Nevertheless, even in this conventionalization, his landscape 
 backgrounds were the admiration of all the artists of his time, Italians included, 
 who did not hesitate to appropriate them and to introduce them into their own 
 productions. 
 
 36 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 34 ADAM AND EVE.— B i; H ii6; R 55; M 38.— Full 
 
 NAME, MONOGRAM, AND DATE, 1 504, ON A TABLET. 
 
 a. Photogravure reproduction of an unfinished trial proof. The back- 
 ground is finished, with the exception of a part on the right side. The 
 figures are only outlined, with the exception of the right leg of Adam, 
 which is finished. The cat is not yet indicated in the foreground. 
 
 b. As before, but carried further, both of the legs of Adam being 
 now finished. 
 
 c. Impression from the finished plate, first state. Very fine, rather 
 delicate impression, generally speaking clean wiped, even most of the 
 darkest parts still transparent, black ink. Watermark, large bull's head, 
 Hausmann, No. i. From the Von Liphart Collection. 
 
 d. Another very fine impression of the first state, but fuller, and 
 therefore what collectors are apt to call " richer." Watermark, large 
 bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. From the Artaria Collection. 
 
 e. Second state of the finished plate, with the rift in the tree under the 
 left armpit of Adam. Very good, clear, delicate impression. Water- 
 mark, large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. From the Harrach Collection. 
 
 /. Copy, usually ascribed, on the authority of Heller, to an other- 
 wise entirely unknown engraver, Johannes van Goosen. Merlo (" Nach- 
 richten," p. 146) says, however, that Heller's ascription is entirely un- 
 warranted. There was an engraver named Johann Baptist Goossens, 
 who lived in Cologne in the seventeenth century, and made some copies 
 after Diirer, but this copy of " Adam and Eve " is not by him. Nagler 
 ascribes it to Johannes Ladenspelder van Essen (" Monogrammisten," 
 IV, p. 57, No. 163). 
 
 g. Copy, undescribed. 
 
 There is no real tinting in these impressions of Diirer's early masterpiece, — he 
 was thirty-three years of age in 1504, — nor do the impressions in the public collec- 
 tions examined show any. Of the first states in these collections the finest is 
 in Berlin, printed in very black ink, clean wiped, and an even finer impression 
 
 37 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 of the same state, in the collection of Mr. Valentin Weisbach, also of Berlin, 
 shows the same printing. 
 
 Trial proofs are known of only two of DUrer's plates, the " Hercules " (No. 
 17 of this catalogue), and the plate under consideration. The two repro- 
 ductions here shown (published by the International Chalcographical Society, 
 in its series for the year 1890, Nos. 17 and 18) were made from the impres- 
 sions in the Albertina, at Vienna. There is also an impression of the first 
 of these states in London. Middleton describes still another trial proof, earlier 
 even than the two just mentioned, — the figures of Adam and Eve only in 
 outline, the whole of the right side of the print and the cat in the foreground 
 unshaded, — but he does not name the collection where it is to be found. The 
 plate of " Adam and Eve " is, besides, one of the very few of Diirer's of which 
 two states, properly so called, can be said to exist. The rift in the tree, under 
 the left armpit of Adam, which is the distinguishing mark of the second state, 
 had an obvious artistic purpose, — Diirer wished to darken the part in question, 
 so as to give more effectual relief to Adam's arm. 
 
 The date fixes the position of" Adam and Eve," and its delicacy harmonizes 
 well with the group of plates which surround it, and at the head of which it 
 stands, technically, as well as artistically, considered. Nowhere else has Diirer 
 treated the flesh with such caressing care, using much fine dotting in the model- 
 ing, and in no previous plate has he used such a variety of textures in a con- 
 scious striving for color. It is very instructive in this respect, as before pointed 
 out, to compare the "Adam and Eve" with "The Virgin and Child with the 
 Monkey" (No. 13), which, despite the variety of objects, is pure black and 
 white, as a result of the uniformity of texture, and with " The Virgin sitting by 
 a Wall" (No. 75), in which variety of texture is carried further than in any 
 other of Diirer's plates. 
 
 It was this engraving of " Adam and Eve," according to Thausing (I, pp. 
 304, 305), "which first brought Diirer before the world in the full conscious- 
 ness of his power, as undisputedly the greatest master of the burin " [of his 
 time]. The elaborate detail studies w^hich he made for it (see Ephrussi, pp. 
 70-73, and the many reproductions published by Lippmann) give evidence of 
 special care in its preparation, and the trial proofs still in existence show 
 that he was equally painstaking in its execution. Such detail studies for en- 
 gravings are exceptional with him, although of composition sketches for his 
 engravings and woodcuts there are many (Ephrussi, p. 195). It is manifest 
 also that he was satisfied with the result of his labors at the time, from the 
 detailed inscription on the tablet: Albertus Dvrer Noricvs Faciebat, fol- 
 lowed by the monogram and the date. That the subject is " Adam and Eve " 
 admits of no doubt, even if we cannot accept the elaborate explanations, such 
 as Retberg's, which assign a symbolical meaning to every detail. On the other 
 
 38 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 hand, it is equally certain that the Biblical story served the artist only as a pre- 
 text for representing the nude, both male and female, according to the best 
 lights he then had. In earlier plates (Nos. 19, 21, 22 of this catalogue) the 
 influence of Jacopo de' Barbari, of the early Florentines (No. 17), and of Andrea 
 Mantegna (Nos. 16, 17) has been detected; in others (Nos. 14, 15) a reflection 
 of the antique may perhaps be seen; while in a third class (Nos. 9, 33) we evi- 
 dently have the result of the direct and unreserved study of nature. In the 
 " Adam and Eve," finally, the young artist, who has thus far carried on his 
 studies on various lines, sometimes contradictory of one another, sums up his 
 experience, and for the first time makes extended use of the theoretical studies 
 of proportions which he pursued throughout his life. That this is the case is 
 conclusively shown by the constructional lines and figures on some of the pre- 
 liminary drawings. At the same time, the earlier studies are still visible in the 
 final result. It is claimed by Thode (" Die Antiken," etc., p. 2) that " Diirer's 
 Adam is nothing but a transformation of the Apollo Belvedere " (see Supple- 
 mentary Illustrations, II), and that "the same conceptions and studies which 
 transformed the Apollo into an Adam changed the Venus to an Eve " (Jahr- 
 buch. III, p. 112). Thode's suggestions concerning the Venus in "The 
 Dream" (No. 15) have already been pointed out, and there is no denying that 
 there is mucli resemblance in the composition generally of this latter figure and 
 the Eve, however the forms may differ in detail. That Diirer should make use 
 of antique models for tiie representation of Biblical subjects is quite in accord- 
 ance with his expressed conviction of the correctness of such a proceeding. It 
 is an interesting question, however, to inquire whether he went to the antique 
 direct or whether its influence was transmitted to him through Jacopo de' 
 Barbari or some other Italian. There is an engraving of "Apollo and Diana" 
 by Jacopo, B 16, Kristeller 14 (see Supplementary Illustrations, No. VIII), in 
 which the figure of the sun-god seems also to have been influenced by the 
 Apollo Belvedere, and in an early drawing by Diirer of the same subject (see 
 Supplementary Illustrations, No. IX), there is a curious mixture of the two with 
 a premonition of the Adam. Indeed the Apollo of the drawing, which, as a 
 whole, is evidently related to Jacopo's engraving, is almost identical with the 
 Adam, reversed. Ephrussi (in his essay on Jacopo de' Barbari) endeavors to 
 prove also that the Eve is based on a relief representing " Orpheus and Eury- 
 dice " (see the etching from it. Supplementary Illustrations, No. X), which he 
 attributes to Jacopo on the strength of the sign in the upper right-hand corner. 
 This sign, however, does not appear to be the caduceus, adopted by Jacopo as 
 a mark, but rather a dagger or something of that sort, stuck through two rings. 
 To offset the chorus of admiration universally called forth by this engraving, it 
 may be well to recall the words of Albert Von Zahn (" Diirer's Kunstlehre," pp. 
 44,45). "The newness," says he, " of the conscious application for the first 
 
 39 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 time of a set of rules [of proportion] explains why these figures have a most 
 forced pose which is thoroughly contradictory of the essence of Diirer's concep- 
 tion of nature, and the disagreeable impression of which is balanced only by 
 the mastery of the drawing." The curious may look up also Mr. Ruskin's 
 judgment in Lecture V of his "Ariadne Florentina." There is no direct evi- 
 dence to show whether Diirer was as dissatisfied after a few years with this 
 crowning triumph of his earlier activity as an engraver as he usually was with 
 his works. He carried impressions to the Netherlands with him, but mentions 
 the plate by title only four times, once among the gifts and thrice among the 
 sales. His price for it was, as for all his " full sheet" prints, eight for one 
 florin, or four stivers for a single copy. As regards the supposed influence of 
 the Apollo Belvedere on Diirer's work, it is worthy of remark that this statue 
 was discovered toward the end of the fifteenth century, — when Diirer visited 
 Italy for the first time, — and undoubtedly created quite an excitement among 
 those interested in such matters. 
 
 Lehrs, in a study published by him in the " Mittheilungen des Instituts fiir 
 oster. Geschichtsforschung," gives a number of representations, here reproduced 
 (see p. 41), illustrating the genesis of Diirer's Adam, and the influence of the 
 Apollo Belvedere on several other artists. Figure i is an outline of the Apollo, 
 Figure 2 a reduction of the Apollo on Diirer's drawing above alluded to, Figure 
 3 the Adam reversed, as he appears in a drawing by Diirer, in the Von Lanna 
 Collection, at Prague (Lippmann, No. 173. See Supplementary Illustrations, 
 No. XI). The relationship is obvious. Figure 4 is from Mantegna's "Bac- 
 chanal with the Tub," again a reminiscence of the Apollo Belvedere, while 
 Figures 5 and 6 are from drawings by Diirer, which seem in their turn to be 
 inspired by Mantegna. Finally, Figure 7, by Rubens, is a still later remi- 
 niscence of the Belvederian. At first blush it appears ridiculous to seek far- 
 reaching analogies and to suggest inspirations for such a pose, which, however 
 at variance with " the essence of Diirer's conception of nature," is yet, in spite 
 of what even a critic like Von Zahn may say, not unnatural. Its significance 
 lies in the very fact that it is at variance, not only with " the essence of Diirer's 
 conception of nature," but with that of all the Northern artists who preceded 
 him. We of to-day cannot conceive how difficult it was for one of these 
 artists to arrive at the freedom and unconstraint, at the self-forgetfulness, which 
 find expression in these two figures. This becomes apparent at once when 
 we compare, for instance, the group of Adam and Eve by Jan Van Eyck 
 with the plate under consideration, and the " Studies for Adam and Eve " (No. 
 112 of this catalogue) may also be consulted for the same purpose. What 
 awkward poses, what a difficulty in spreading their limbs, what a painful con- 
 sciousnes of nakedness these figures betray ! Diirer's Adam and Eve, on the 
 contrary, are quite unconscious of their nakedness, — without glorying in their 
 
 40 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 limbs, they are yet not ashamed of them, and they do not, therefore, attempt 
 to hide them. The great significance of these figures for the peoples north of 
 the Alps is this, that they proclaim the emancipation of the flesh, under the 
 influence of the antique, — its release from the curse which for fifteen hundred 
 years had rested upon it. As in so many other things, the Italians were far in 
 advance of them in this also. For proof see the groups of Adam and Eve by 
 Filippino Lippi and by Masaccio, which are here cited, because they are easily 
 attainable among the pubUcations of the Arundel Society. 
 
 35 THE NATIVITY — B 2; H 127; R 54; M 37.— Monogram 
 
 AND DATE, 1 504, ON A TABLET. 
 
 a. A very beautiful impression. Black ink, clean wiped, and therefore 
 transparent and harmonious throughout, which latter quahty the fine tone 
 of the paper aids materially. From the Fisher Collection. 
 
 b. Reversed copy. Heller, No. 136. 
 
 All the good impressions from this plate to be seen in the principal collections 
 of Europe are printed like the one here shown, — black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 Apparently the print which Durer calls " Christmas " in his Netherlands Diary. 
 
 36 APOLLO AND DIANA —B 68 ; H 795 ; R 87 ; M 35.— Mon- 
 
 ogram ON A PIECE OF paper; THE D REVERSED AND THEN 
 CORRECTED. 
 
 Very fine impression, with just tinting enough in the close work to add 
 richness, without impairing the transparency. The fine tone of the paper 
 adds to the beauty of the general effect. 
 
 The tinting on this impression, although not yet perfectly under the control of 
 the printer, is the first specimen among the prints here shown of a fairly success- 
 ful attempt to produce an eff'ect other than that which the engraved lines would 
 give unaided. (See the accompanying reproduction.) The ground and the 
 body of the stag, against which the lower limbs of the figures are luminously 
 relieved, are perceptibly tinted, more especially the stag. The impressions in 
 Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin vary somewhat. The London impression 
 resembles the one here shown, while that in Berlin is more cleanly wiped. 
 
 42 
 
APOLLO AND DIANA. 
 (N0.36.) 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 The plate is assigned to about 1505 by Retberg, to 1504 by Thode. Heller 
 names 1486-1500, which is evidently too early. The general daintiness of treat- 
 ment suffices to indicate the period of 1504 to 1505. In no other plate, except- 
 ing " Adam and Eve," is there such delicate modeling of the flesh. The treat- 
 ment of the ground may also be cited as evidence in favor of the period named. 
 An examination of the earlier plates shows that in them the ground is worked 
 in long sweeping lines, which are crossed by shorter curved lines only in the 
 darkest shadows, while about the year 1504 or 1505 a more delicate treatment 
 begins to prevail, although it would not do to say that it becomes general. See, 
 besides the plate under consideration, the "St. George Standing " (No. 43), the 
 later plates of " The Little Passion," and many of the still later plates. 
 
 The general relationship of this design to Jacopo de' Barbari's engraving and 
 to Diirer's drawing (see Supplementary Illustrations, Nos. VIII and IX) is 
 evident, although there is considerable variation in detail. Grimm, on the 
 other hand, sees so much of Signorelli in the conception that he is " tempted 
 sometimes to trace it back directly to him." 
 
 A drawing of the Apollo alone is published by Lippmann, No. 179. 
 
 37 THE SATYR AND HIS FAMILY.— B 69; H 819; R 83 ; 
 M 39. — Monogram and date, 1505, on a tablet, 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Black ink, clean wiped, transparent even in 
 the darkest shadows. Watermark, bull's head, only the flower visible. 
 From the St. Aubyn Collection. 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression, but somewhat too full in the darkest 
 shadows. This, in connection with the white paper, produces more con- 
 trast in this impression than in a. Slightly cut at top and bottom. Wa- 
 termark, large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. From the Marshall Col- 
 lection. 
 
 The impressions in Paris, London, and Berlin are all printed in pure black ink, 
 clean wiped, like the above, — that is to say, in the old style. The workman- 
 ship, in comparison with that of No. 36, is also rather old-fashioned, but the date 
 settles the question of position. 
 
 Called also " The Little Satyr " (to distinguish it from " Hercules " or " The 
 Great Satyr," No. 17), "Pan and Syrinx," and "The Birth of Adonis." For 
 the possible source of inspiration, see Thausing, I, p. 311, 
 
 43 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 38 THE LITTLE HORSE.— B 96; H 1000; R 85; M 40.— 
 
 Monogram on a stone; date, 1505, in the sky. 
 
 a. Fine impression, black ink, generally speaking clean wiped, although 
 the shadows are here and there a trifle too full. Very slight duplication 
 of lines in lowest part. Watermark, bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. 
 
 b. Reversed copy, apparently Heller's No. 1005. 
 
 The impressions in the Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin cabinets are all 
 printed in black ink, clean wiped. Only the one in London shows some tinting 
 on the under side of the arch. 
 
 This and the following engraving, as well as the " St. Eustace " (No. 32), which 
 see, and the " St. George on Horseback " (No. 42), are probably the outcome of 
 Durer's studies of the horse, on the proportions of which he intended to write a 
 book, and the pseudo-mythological and other adjuncts may have been thrown 
 in to make the subjects palatable to the educated public of the time, which was 
 always ready for something either " antique " or " saintly." Heller and Retberg 
 suggest that the man leading the animal may be Perseus. Thausing substitutes 
 Mercury, and discusses the difficulties which stand in the way (I, p. 314). Sprin- 
 ger (" Diirer," p. 57) also suggests Mercury and Pegasus. 
 
 39 THE GREAT HORSE — B 97; H 1009; R 84; M 41.— 
 
 Monogram in lower right corner; date, 1505, in the 
 
 SKY. 
 
 a. Very brilhant impression. Black ink, practically clean wiped, only 
 the darkest shadows somewhat full. On white paper, with the water- 
 mark of the large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. 
 
 b. Similar impression, on paper of a fine warm tone. From the col- 
 lection of the Earl of Aylesford. 
 
 The impression in Paris is a brilliant black one, clean wiped. The one in Lon- 
 don is only good, practically clean wiped, with some smudging on the forelegs 
 of the horse and the boot on the left leg of the soldier. Dresden has a fine, 
 rather delicate impression, absolutely clean wiped, Berlin also a very fine clean- 
 wiped one, in warmish black ink. A very fine, black, clean-wiped impression 
 is in the Gray Collection, Boston. 
 
 44 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 As Quad von Kinkelbach calls the " Hercules " (No. 17) "The Great Her- 
 cules," it seems probable that this print was known as " The Little Hercules." 
 Thausing (I, p. 313) suggests that it may be meant to represent Hercules car- 
 rying off the mares of the Thracian Diomedes. (See the remarks under No. 38.) 
 
 40 THE THREE GENII WITH HELMET AND SHIELD. 
 
 — B 66; H 871; R 114; M 42. — Monogram. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, warmish black ink, clean wiped. Would be 
 absolutely perfect if the paper were in better condition. 
 
 b. Late impression, from the worn plate. Washed with India ink in 
 the shadows. From the Cabinet Louis Galichon. 
 
 c. Copy by Jerome Wierix, "M 12," z. e., engraved when he was 
 twelve years of age. Alvin, No. 1574. 
 
 All the impressions from this plate in the collections examined are clean wiped. 
 
 Retberg, about 1507 ; Heller, 1507-14. Thausing, on the contrary, holds the 
 plate to be an early one, showing the influence of Mantegna ; but this theory is 
 plainly contradicted by the workmanship and the monogram. As here placed, 
 it would precede the second journey to Venice, which Diirer undertook in the 
 year 1506. 
 
 A good example of the farfetched explanations attempted by the older ad- 
 mirers of Diirer is furnished in this instance by Retberg. According to him we 
 have here a piece of Diireresque humor which he brought home with him from 
 Venice in 1507, and which is to be thus expounded: "Genii trumpet forth 
 Diirer's name to the right and to the left, and they also hold an escutcheon, to 
 possess which was at that time every one's desire. But nothing is as yet recorded 
 upon it, and the helmet that is being brought by another still hangs in air." 
 See Von Sallet, p. 17, to the effect that the design is merely one of the fanciful 
 coats-of-arms, without special meaning, which were then quite frequently en- 
 graved. 
 
 45 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 4J THE WITCH.— B 67; H 867; R115; M 44.— Monogram. 
 
 WITH THE D REVERSED. 
 
 A very beautiful impression, warmish black ink, clean wiped, on paper 
 of a very luminous tone. Watermark, large bull's head, Hausmann, No. i. 
 
 All the impressions in the collections examined, including that of King Frederic 
 Augustus II, in Dresden, are clean wiped. 
 
 Retberg, about 1507 ; Heller, 1507-14. Thausing (I, p. 226) considers this, 
 like the preceding plate, an early work composed under Italian, and more es- 
 pecially Mantegna's, influence. Middleton also recognizes the influence of Man- 
 tegna. The face of the witch forcibly recalls that of one of the marine monsters 
 in Mantegna's " Battle of the Tritons." (See Supplementary Illustrations, No. 
 XII.) Thausing also points out (II, p. 89) that the principal figure in Agostino 
 Veneziano's " Lo Stregozzo " is a reminiscence of Diirer's witch. (See Supple- 
 mentary Illustrations, No. XIII.) If these suggestions are tenable, which they 
 certainly appear to be, we have here a curious example of "give and take", — 
 Diirer taking the figure from an Italian source, and an Italian carrying it back 
 to its native country. Again, as for No. 40, workmanship and monogram argue 
 against a very early date for this plate, so that it seems safest to assign it to 
 about the year 1506. 
 
 So far as the witch, riding backward on a goat and causing a hailstorm, is 
 concerned, it is easy enough to understand the subject, in connection with popu- 
 lar superstitions and with the witch trials, which were in full blast about that 
 time. The four genii, however, prove more troublesome, and all the learning 
 expended upon them by Allihn (p. 49) leads only to the suggestion that they 
 may perhaps represent the four seasons, disturbed in their smooth course by the 
 unhallowed doings of the witch. 
 
 42 ST. GEORGE ON HORSEBACK.— B 54; H 746; R 120; 
 M 43. — Monogram and date, 1508, changed from 1505, 
 ON a tag. 
 
 a. Fine impression. Pure black, strong ink, clean wiped, lines some- 
 what full. 
 
 b. Also a nice impression, but in a warmer, softer ink, with perceptible 
 tinting on the ground and the hindpart of the dragon ; otherwise clean 
 
 46 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 wiped. Slightly cut on all sides, false margin, restored all around with 
 the pen, — all of this very cleverly done. 
 
 The impressions in the European cabinets examined are all similar to a, ex- 
 cept the one in Berlin, which is more closely wiped than any of the others. 
 
 Very likely begun in 1505, when Diirer was specially occupied with the 
 horse (see No. 38), and taken up again after his return from Venice. 
 
 43 ST. GEORGE STANDING.— B 53; H 737; R 121 ; M 31. 
 — Monogram on a tablet. 
 
 a. Very fine, brilliant impression. Black ink, somewhat full. Tinting 
 in the foreground. 
 
 b. Reversed copy, not described. 
 
 There is an impression in London which is quite picturesque in its way, — printed 
 in warmish ink, but with too much tinting, and indeed smudging, in the face and 
 around the left arm of the saint. Dresden has a good clean-wiped impression, 
 pure black, with very little tinting in the closest work; and Berlin a very fine 
 clear impression, in pure black ink, almost without any tinting whatever. 
 
 Thausing assigns this plate to about the same time as " The Standard-Bearer " 
 (No. 26 of this catalogue), i. e., shortly after 1499. Middleton calls it " a com- 
 panion print" to "The Standard-Bearer," and "probably of the same date." 
 Heller places it between 1507 and 1514; Retberg and Hausmann about 1508, 
 contemporaneous, that is to say, with the "St. George on Horseback" (No. 
 42). The two " St. George " are unquestionably of the same workmanship, and 
 must, therefore, be placed together. They are totally different in this respect 
 from " The Standard-Bearer," which is considerably earlier. It may seem im- 
 probable that Diirer should have treated the same subject twice at the same 
 time, but there are other similar instances. " The Little Horse " and " The 
 Great Horse" are both dated 1505, and the two "Saint Christopher" (Nos. 
 96 and 97), 1521. The graver slip, along the upper half of the right margin, 
 seems to be on all impressions. 
 
 St. George, according to the legend, was a prince of Cappadocia, who died the 
 death of a martyr under Diocletian. His most celebrated deed was the killing 
 of the dragon which threatened to devour the royal princess Aja. The legend 
 is of Oriental origin, and was introduced into Europe by the Crusaders. It is 
 stated that the Emperor Maximilian I reorganized the order of St. George, 
 which had fallen into decay, and possibly Diirer's two engravings of the saint 
 were inspired by this action. 
 
 47 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 44 THE VIRGIN WITH THE CROWN OF STARS.— 
 
 B31; H517; Rii8;M 47. — Monogram ; dated i 508. 
 
 Very fine impression of the second state. Transparent throughout, 
 with very slight tinting in the close work. From the De Arozarena 
 Collection. 
 
 The two states of this plate differ in the halo about the figure of the Virgin, 
 which consists of an inner and an outer oval of rays. In the first state the 
 outer oval of shorter rays is not complete in the upper part; in the second 
 state it has been completed. 
 
 The Berlin Cabinet has the two states, both printed in rich black ink, clean 
 wiped. There is a black impression also in Paris, and a more delicate, although 
 brilliant one, in slightly warmish black ink, clean wiped, in London, but the 
 notes on which these remarks are based do not mention the state. The black 
 impressions, as in other cases, are undoubtedly the earlier ones. Early impres- 
 sions, of the first as well as of the second state, show slight scratches in the 
 plate, which disappear later. 
 
 Diirer goes back in this print to the time-honored conception of the Virgin 
 as the Queen of Heaven, standing on the crescent, which we have met with once 
 before among his very early work, " The Virgin on the Crescent, without 
 Crown," No. 8. In this latter he was still under the influence of Schongauer's 
 gentle idealism. Here he shows himself emancipated, and gives free play to 
 his realistic tendencies in the representation of the heavenly vision, with a 
 result which can hardly escape the accusation of incongruity. The " Man in 
 the Moon," abandoned in later years, still appears here. 
 
 45 CHRIST DYING UPON THE CROSS.— B 24; H 426; 
 
 R 119; M 46. — Monogram and date, 1508, on a tablet. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, with light yet very apparent tinting, even on 
 the lights in the sky. Black ink. From the Fountaine-Walker Col- 
 lection. 
 
 b. Impression from the worn plate, quite clean wiped. 
 
 The printing of this plate, compared with other plates, is very instructive, and 
 may serve to make clear once more (see also Introduction, p. xxxviii) the differ- 
 ence in the meaning of the terms so often used in previous descriptions, viz. : 
 
 48 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 " filling," " smudging," and " tinting." Filling is spoken of when the lines, al- 
 though the plate is clean wiped [i. e., when the intention is to remove all ink 
 from the surface of the plate), are so full of mk that, in the closest parts, they 
 run together so as to form one black mass. See, for instance, No. 13b, "The 
 Virgin and Child with the Monkey." In this print, although it is very beautiful 
 and rich, some of the darkest parts are filled. In No. 13a, on the contrary, 
 and in No. 7, "The Penance of St. John Chrysostom," there is no filling, and 
 consequently the minute spots which represent the surface of the plate not cut 
 away by the graver are still seen, even in the very darkest, most closely worked 
 parts. Whoever has tried his hand at printing knows that the thing is not as 
 easy as it looks, and that it requires considerable practice to be able to wipe the 
 surface of a plate absolutely clean without wiping the ink out of the lines. The 
 old printers also experienced this difficulty, and the result was " smudging," 
 which, in its origin, was an unwelcome accident, but which led to " tinting." 
 For an example of probably accidental " smudging," see No. 8, " The Virgin 
 on the Crescent, without Crown." For a still primitive attempt to utilize what 
 had heretofore been simply accident, see No. 9, " The Little Fortune," and 
 for a much more successful attempt, see No. 33b, " Nemesis." Diirer and his 
 printers saw the advantages which might be derived from these " accidents," 
 if they could only be brought under control, and thus made obedient servants. 
 The ink of the printer might then be used to produce effects which the engraver 
 alone could not reach. The experiments made led to artificial printitig, but, 
 curiously enough, only to " tinting," not to " retroussage," which is a modem 
 invention (see Introduction, p. xH). Having hit upon the proper consistency 
 of the ink, and having acquired the necessary skill, the printers now found it 
 possible to leave a thin film of ink on the surface of the plate, — so thin and 
 so evenly laid as to leave even the most closely worked parts transparent, yet 
 bound together, while the lights could be wiped clean. Henceforth we shall 
 find that this "tinting" process is used on most of Diirer's plates, although 
 clean wiping is not, as a matter of course, entirely abandoned. 
 
 All the prints from this plate examined, whether in the cabinets or elsewhere, 
 show more or less tinting, some of them even too much, — as, for instance, one in 
 the Berlin Cabinet, which has an altogether too heavy tint throughout. The paper 
 is somewhat rubbed, as if an attempt had been made to reduce the tint. [From 
 a note made in the year 1895.] The very best proofs from this plate, printed in 
 a warmish ink, have a beautiful ivory-like quality, due in great part to the tint 
 left standing in the closely worked parts, which in this case means nearly the 
 whole of the plate. 
 
 In its handling, and in its pictorial completeness, this plate readily shows its 
 close relationship to the plates of " The Little Passion," more especially those 
 of the same year. 
 
 15 
 
 49 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 D iirer, in his Diary, calls this plate " The Cross." It is often spoken of as 
 " The Great Cross," or " Crucifixion," to distinguish it from B 23 (No. 88 of this 
 catalogue). The St. John in this design is usually described as an almost literal 
 copy from the same figure in Mantegna's *' Entombment," but there are many 
 points of difference. 
 
 THE PASSION, ON COPPER. 
 
 B 3-18; H 139, etc.; R 92-107; M 50, etc. 
 
 46 TITLE-PAGE: THE MAN OF SORROWS.— Monogram ; 
 
 DATED 1509. 
 
 47 THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN.— Monogram and date, 
 
 1 508, on a tag. 
 
 a. Fine early impression. 
 
 b. Impression from the worn plate. 
 
 48 CHRIST TAKEN BY THE JEWS.— Monogram and date, 
 
 1508, on a tag. 
 
 49 CHRIST BEFORE CAIAPHAS.— Monogram and date, 1512, 
 
 ON A TABLET. 
 
 50 CHRIST BEFORE PILATE.— Monogram; dated 1512. 
 
 5t THE FLAGELLATION. — Monogram and date, 15 12, on 
 
 A tablet. 
 
 a. Fine early impression. 
 
 b. Impression from the worn plate. 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 52 CHRIST CROWNED WITH THORNS.— Monogram and 
 
 DATE, 15 1 2, ON TWO TABLETS. 
 
 53 ECCE HOMO!— Monogram; dated 15 12. 
 
 54 PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS.— Monogram ; dated 
 
 1512. 
 
 55 CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS.— Monogram and date, 
 
 15 I 2, ON A TABLET. 
 
 56 THE CRUCIFIXION. — Monogram and date, 151 i, on two 
 
 TAGS. 
 
 57 THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS.— Monogram; dated 
 
 1507- 
 
 58 THE ENTOMBMENT.— Monogram and date, 151 2, on a 
 
 TABLET. 
 
 59 CHRIST IN LIMBO.— Monogram on a tag; dated 15 12. 
 
 60 THE RESURRECTION.— Monogram and date, 15 12, on 
 
 A tag. 
 
 61 STS. PETER AND JOHN HEALING AT THE TEMPLE 
 
 GATE. — Monogram; dated 15 13. 
 
 Very fine set, in uniformly good impressions. 
 
 51 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 The plates of this set are arranged above as they are intended to be seen, that 
 is to say, in the order in which they follow as illustrations of the Bible story. In 
 an examination of their technical quahties they must be taken in the order of 
 date, as follows : 
 
 
 Nn 
 
 57 • 
 
 X lie ucbcciii irom toe v^ross. 
 
 T cnR 
 1500. 
 
 (< 
 
 
 1 lie /\gony in ine vjaroen. 
 
 (( 
 
 ii 
 
 48: 
 
 Christ taken by the Jews. 
 
 1509. 
 
 U 
 
 46: 
 
 The Man of Sorrows. (Title-page.) 
 
 I5II. 
 
 il 
 
 56: 
 
 The Crucifixion. 
 
 1512. 
 
 u. 
 
 49: 
 
 Christ before Caiaphas. 
 
 
 u 
 
 50: 
 
 Christ before Pilate. 
 
 
 ii 
 
 51 : 
 
 The Flagellation. 
 
 « 
 
 li 
 
 52: 
 
 Christ crowned with Thorns. 
 
 (( 
 
 il 
 
 53: 
 
 Ecce Homo ! 
 
 (( 
 
 ii 
 
 54: 
 
 Pilate washing his Hands. 
 
 (< 
 
 li 
 
 55: 
 
 Christ bearing the Cross. 
 
 £C 
 
 il 
 
 58: 
 
 The Entombment. 
 
 (t 
 
 il 
 
 59: 
 
 Christ in Limbo. 
 
 li 
 
 li 
 
 60: 
 
 The Resurrection. 
 
 1513- 
 
 11 
 
 61 : 
 
 Sts. Peter and John healing at the Temple Gate. 
 
 The plates of 1507 and of 1 509 are the simplest in execution of the whole series. 
 The two of 1508, as well as that of 1511, are of similar workmanship, but are 
 carried farther toward pictorial completeness, and readily show their close rela- 
 tionship, as already pointed out, to "Christ dying on the Cross" (No. 45), of the 
 same year. In the plates of 151 2 Diirer has carried his striving after variety of 
 texture farther than in any of his previous plates, and an endeavor to arrive at a 
 more harmonious development of chiaroscuro is also very apparent in these com- 
 positions. At the same time, they show the artist at the height of his technical 
 skill ; they are carried to the utmost degree of mechanical perfection, in the at- 
 tainment of which, it cannot be denied, some of the spontaneity and freedom 
 of the earlier work has been lost. This " finish " may, in part, account for the 
 great popularity of the set. It has been copied any number of times (see Heller), 
 and the plates have been printed from until they have been worn almost out of 
 recognition. A couple of these hideous late impressions are here shown as de- 
 terrent examples (Nos. 47b and Sib). The last plate finally, dated 1513, only 
 loosely connected with the others as regards the Bible story, is the same in 
 method as those of the preceding year, but seems to betray a feeling of fatigue. 
 
 In the printing, the set in this exhibition, — and, as it would seem, all good 
 sets, — varies somewhat. The title-page, being the most open in work, although 
 
 52 
 
ST. VERONICA WITH THE SUDARIUM. 
 
 (No. 62,) 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 not the oldest (1509), is quite clean wiped; No. 57, the earliest (1507), is prac- 
 tically clean wiped. In the other plates there is more or less very delicate tint- 
 ing. It is quite specially apparent in No. 49, " Christ before Caiaphas." The 
 figure of Caiaphas is clean wiped, even to his right foot standing on the stone plat- 
 form, on which latter a tint has been left. The heads of Christ and the two sol- 
 diers, the breastplate of the soldier nearest Caiaphas, the right shoulder of Christ, 
 and the right hand, holding the lance, of the soldier on his right side (left of plate), 
 are also wiped clean, — purposely " picked out," — while all the rest of the plate 
 shows a very perceptible, although delicate, tint. What has just been said holds 
 good also, in a general way, of the various sets examined in Europe, and of the 
 very beautiful one in the Print Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 
 " Christ before Caiaphas," No. 49, always challenges attention by its artificial 
 printing, and, in most cases, " Christ before Pilate," No. 50, and the " Ecce 
 Homo ! " No. 53, are about equal to it in this respect. But more or less delicate 
 tinting is apparent in all those plates which have not been specially mentioned 
 as clean wiped. 
 
 Of all of Durer's engravings on metal this set is the most frequently men- 
 tioned in his Netherlands Diary, among sales as well as gifts. His price for it 
 was half a florin. Also called " The Little Passion on Copper," to distinguish it 
 from the large and the small " Passion " on wood. 
 
 62 ST. VERONICA WITH THE SUDARIUM.— B 64; H 464; 
 R 167; M 64. — Monogram; dated 1510. 
 
 a. Photogravure reproduction from the impression in the collection of 
 King Frederic Augustus II, of Saxony, in Dresden (see plate). 
 
 b. Petrak's copy. Like all of Petrak's copies, it is very pretty, — that 
 is to say, too pretty to do justice to the original. 
 
 A dry-point plate, which, however, shows little or no bur, Durer's first attempt 
 of the kind. Passavant's statement (III, p. 146) that this is a niello is incom- 
 prehensible, and is refuted by the fact that the monogram and the date are 
 not reversed in the impression. Thausing points out the resemblance to Schon- 
 gauer's rendering of the same subject, but this is due supply to the fact that 
 
 53 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 both artists followed the usual type. Only two impressions from this plate are 
 known, the one here reproduced, and another in the Albertina, at Vienna. (See 
 the Introduction, p. xxvi, etc.). 
 
 63 THE VIRGIN WITH THE PEAR.— B 41 ; H 621; R 194; 
 
 M 53. — Monogram and date, 151 i, on separate tablets. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Warmish black ink, slight tinting in the 
 close work, especially in the foreground ; the lights, the distance, and the 
 sky clean wiped. On paper of a fine warmish tone. From the Collec- 
 tion of the Duke of Buccleuch. 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression. Black ink, on somewhat lighter paper, 
 similarly printed, but the sky and distance not wiped as closely as in a, 
 with the result that they " come forward " somewhat too much. Water- 
 mark similar to Hausmann, No. 7. From the Von Feder and Von Liphart 
 Collections. 
 
 The impressions in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin are of the most brilliant 
 sort, printed in the blackest ink, with very little tinting. 
 
 The workmanship harmonizes closely with the plate of " The Little Passion," 
 which bears the same date, 151 1, — that is to say, it is quite uniform, with very 
 little striving for difference in texture. 
 
 Thausing (II, pp. 59, 60) rates this as one of the two most beautiful Madonnas 
 engraved by Diirer, the other being B 35 (No. 67 of this catalogue), — a rating 
 which will probably be questioned. There is a pen study in the Berlin Cabi- 
 net (Lippmann, No. 29). 
 
 64 THE MAN OF SORROWS, WITH HANDS TIED.— 
 
 B 21 ; H 445; R 195; M 64. — Monogram; dated 151 2. 
 
 Good, although very delicate impression. 
 
 Diirer's second dry-point plate. The work must have been very delicate, with 
 but little bur, from the beginning. Certainly the impressions in the cabinets at 
 Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin show scarcely any. Passavant also states 
 that it is always found " tres-faible de ton." (See Introduction, p. xxvi, etc. See 
 Lippmann, No. 319, for a drawing in the Louvre.) 
 
 54 
 
ST. JEROME BY THE WILLOW-TREE. 
 (No. 65.) 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 65 ST. JEROME BY THE WILLOW TREE.— B 59 ; H 770; 
 R 196; M 65. — Monogram in the 2D state; dated 1512. 
 
 a. First state, before the monogram. Photogravure reproduction of 
 the proof in the Print Room of the British Museum, London, the richest 
 impression known. 
 
 b. First state, before the monogram. Photogravure reproduction 
 of the proof in the Albertina, at Vienna. Not as rich as a, the bur 
 having begun to wear. 
 
 c. Second state, with the monogram. Photogravure reproduction of 
 one of the richest impressions of this state known, in the Albertina, at 
 Vienna (see plate). 
 
 d. Second state, with the monogram. Impression from the plate it- 
 self. Not as rich as the impression from which the photogravure c was 
 made, but still showing some of the bur, and much richer than the im- 
 pressions ordinarily seen. Note especially the monogram, which ex- 
 hibits very plainly, not only the characteristic impressed dry-point white 
 line, but even the jagged edge of the bur. 
 
 e. Third state, that is to say, after the bur had worn off completely. 
 In this state the plate is a mere ruin, and there is a hole in it, to left of 
 middle, near the lower margin. Watermark, a castle-gate, but different 
 from those given by Hausmann. From the Storck Collection. 
 
 The series of prints here shown gives a good idea of the wearing of the plate, 
 although the photogravure a emphasizes the contrasts somewhat too much, 
 and, in the nature of things, cannot quite render the velvetiness of dry-point. 
 Impressions showing any bur at all are very rare, so that most collections, 
 public as well as private, are compelled to put up with prints from the ruined 
 plate, like e. Of the first state, before the monogram, only the two impressions 
 are known from which reproductions are shown here. Besides the fine second 
 state in Vienna (see c), there is a good impression of the same state in Paris, 
 and fairly good ones in London and Berlin. Middleton says there are two 
 impressions known " before the monogram and date," but he does not name 
 the collection or collections in which they are to be found. 
 
 This is Durer's third dry-point, strengthened here and there with the graver. 
 
 55 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 Thausing (II, p. 62) is inclined to think that Rembrandt must have been 
 inspired by it to take up the dry-point. In tlie light of the impressions from 
 the ruined plate, which were, heretofore, the only ones accessible to American 
 students, this suggestion seemed incredible. Tlie series here shown gives more 
 coloring to it. (See Introduction, p. xxvi, etc.) 
 
 66 THE HOLY FAMILY.— B 43; H 648; R 222; M 66.— 
 Without monogram or date. 
 
 a. First state. Magnificent impression from the plate in its best con- 
 dition, showing all the richness of effect produced by the bur. 
 
 b. Second state, with the graver stroke across the face of the 
 Madonna, and all the bur worn off. From the Ruhl Collection. 
 
 Fine impressions from this plate are also quite rare, and, as in the case of the 
 " St. Jerome " (No. 65), even celebrated pubhc collections must content them- 
 selves with the ruins usually seen. London has a fine, rich impression, and so 
 has Berlin. The only other good impression in the United States, besides the 
 one here shown, is in the Gray Collection, Boston. It is fairly rich in bur, but 
 unfortunately has been cut on top, and is otherwise damaged. Three states 
 have been made of this plate, with bur, without bur, and with the graver stroke. 
 A fourth might be made, — after the attempted removal of the graver stroke. 
 But these are not really states, and it would be best, — as also in the case of 
 the "St. Jerome", — to drop the designation "states" altogether, and to speak 
 only of impressions with much, with little, or without bur, and of impressions 
 from the ruined plate. There are even worse impressions than 6, with 
 scratches in other parts of the plate. The short, heavy, diagonal scratch imme- 
 diately over the stone in lower right comer seems to show on all impressions. 
 
 Although there is neither monogram nor date on this plate, it is unhesitat- 
 ingly accepted as by Diirer, and is generally accounted to be his fourth and 
 last dry-point, which would assign it to the year 151 2 or later. He never tried 
 the process again. The bad wearing qualities of such plates probably disap- 
 pointed him, and he cared too little for chiaroscuro to become enamored of the 
 dry-point, as Rembrandt did in the succeeding century. Little did he think, 
 no doubt, when, in his disgust, he ran his graver across the face of the Virgin, 
 for the purpose of making the plate useless for ever, that it would outlive him, 
 and would be used, almost to his disgrace, in after generations. 
 
 Heller assigns the plate to 1500-06, probably because the monogram and the 
 date 1506 have been added on an early copy. The same intrinsically unreliable 
 
 56 
 
THE HOLY FAMILY. 
 (No. 66.) 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 piece of evidence misleads even Von Zahn to say (on p. 49, in the course of his 
 remarks on the slightness of the influence exercised on Diirer by Venetian art) : 
 " Only the etched [should be " dry-pointed "] representation of the Holy Family 
 executed in the year of his stay at Venice is pervaded by a harmony which 
 gives it spiritual kinship with the largeness of conception of the Venetian school, 
 and which extends to all the figures, with the exception of the ugly child." Pro- 
 fessor Colvin, who, however, favors 1513, also speaks of this plate (" Portfolio," 
 1877) as the one "in which Diirer draws nearest to ItaHan types, and in one 
 figure at least, the bearded Joseph with his upturned face, is almost with strict- 
 ness Venetian." A similar remark might be applied to the St. Jerome in the 
 preceding plate, which is clearly dated 15 12. There is no reason, therefore, 
 why this " Holy Family " should not be grouped together with the rest of 
 Diirer's dry-points. Retberg dates it about 1516, without giving a reason. 
 
 Diirer's dry-points furnish a striking illustration of the loose manner in which, 
 as a rule, technical questions are treated by writers on art. Bartsch, who cer- 
 tainly ought to have known better, speaks of this " Holy Family," as well as of 
 the " St. Jerome by the Willow Tree " and " The Man of Sorrows, with Hands 
 tied," as etchings on plates of iron (although he opines the " St. Veronica " to 
 be a dry-point), and many writers have followed him in this, in spite of the fact 
 that Retberg and Hausmann long ago pointed out their true nature, and that an 
 examination of a good impression distinctly shows the peculiar white lines 
 which are characteristic of dry-point work. (See Introduction, p. xxvi, etc.) 
 
 67 THE VIRGIN SEATED, CARESSING THE CHRIST 
 CHILD.— B 35; H 599; R 201; M 68.— Monogram ; 
 
 DATED 15 13. 
 
 a. Very fine, clear impression, w^ith very delicate tinting in close 
 work. Black ink on white paper. 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression, but slightly warmer, which is due to 
 heavier tinting, and, principally, to the color of the paper, which, 
 although white, is not as purely white as that of a. From the Peoli 
 Collection. 
 
 The impressions examined in the European cabinets vary in the ink and the 
 wiping about as those here exhibited, but all of them show some tinting, even 
 the one in Dresden, which is closer wiped than the others. 
 
 Thausing classes this plate and B 41 (No. 63 of this catalogue) as the two 
 
 16 57 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 most beautiful engravings of the Madonna by Diirer, and points out a similarity 
 in motive to Raphael's " Virgin of the Casa Tempi." It may be well to note 
 here that in Heller's description of the copy, No. 600 of his list, the marks given 
 are reversed, so that, according to him, the original would appear to be the copy. 
 
 68 THE SUDARIUM DISPLAYED BY TWO ANGELS.— 
 
 B 25 ; H 467 ; R 202 ; M 70. — Monogram and date, 15 13, 
 
 ON A TAG. 
 
 a. Very fine, silvery impression. Black ink, practically clean wiped, 
 on white paper. From the Mariette and the Von Liphart Collections. 
 
 b. Also very fine, but quite different — warmish black ink, on paper 
 of a luminous tone, with delicate tinting in the close work. The result is 
 more contrast than in a, despite the softer ink. 
 
 The impressions in the European cabinets, and that in the Gray Collection, 
 Boston, are, generally speaking, like a. 
 
 Mr. Middleton contends that this plate " was both bitten-in and completed 
 with the acid." (See the remarks in the Introduction, pp. xxxv, xxxvi.) 
 
 This appears to be the print to which Diirer, in his Netherlands Diary, 
 alludes as " The Veronica." Bartsch calls it " The Face of Christ." Thausing 
 advances the conjecture (II, p. 61) that it was intended as a finale to "The 
 Passion on Copper," although it differs from the plates composing this series 
 in shape as well as in size. 
 
 69 THE KNIGHT, DEATH, AND THE DEVIL.— B 98; H 
 
 1013; R 203; M 69. — Monogram and date, 15 13, pre- 
 ceded BY AN S, ON A tablet. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Black ink, clean wiped, white paper. 
 
 b. Very fine, rich impression. Warmish black ink, clean wiped, but 
 some of the most closely worked parts filled, on tinted paper. 
 
 c. Very good impression, on delicately tinted paper, printed in a 
 warmish ink, very closely wiped, but yet with slight tinting, and for all 
 these reasons producing a soft eff'ect. 
 
 58 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 d. Similar to c, but printed with a colder ink. Broad margin. From 
 the Von Liphart Collection. 
 
 e. Copy. Heller, No. 3. 
 
 A very interesting series of impressions, and yet none of them quite equal to 
 the two in the Gray Collection, Boston. One of these is considerably darker 
 than either of the four here shown, printed in intensely black ink on white 
 paper, the lines very full, with just a suspicion of tinting throughout the close 
 work. The other, more " silvery," — that is to say, more closely wiped, — without 
 any tinting, also in intensely black ink on white paper, stands between the dark 
 impression and our a. The impression in London, in a rich, warmish black, is 
 clean wiped, with very little tinting; Dresden has one of the delicate, rather 
 grayish impressions, with much delicate tinting; Berlin a very fine dark impres- 
 sion, but nevertheless quite clean wiped, and therefore open throughout. The 
 impression in Paris is framed. For this plate, the dark impressions are decid- 
 edly to be preferred, as the dark tone emphasizes the " Stimmung" (see below, 
 under No. 71). 
 
 As to the meaning of the composition, Diirer himself is, unfortunately, quite 
 non-committal, since he speaks of this plate simply as " A Horseman." The 
 titles invented for it by others are manifold : " Le Manege " (the art of riding or 
 the riding-school), " The Horse of Death," " The Knight of Death," " The 
 Knight of the Reformation," " Fortitude" (Ruskin), etc. Old catalogues say 
 that it represents a Nuremberg soldier, named Rinck or Rinneck, who lost his 
 way and met death and the devil in the darkness of the night — a story which 
 is contradicted by the lighting of the composition. Heller calls it " The Chris- 
 tian Knight with Death and the Devil," and states that it has been held to 
 represent Franz von Sickmgen (mildly indicated by the S before the date), " who 
 was especially and generally feared in Germany about 15 10-12, and whose 
 character was depicted by his enemies at the time in the most terrible and 
 damaging manner," Retberg styles it " The Knight in Spite of Death and the 
 Devil," and conjectures that Diirer intended it as a sort of monument to his friend 
 Stefan Paumgartner, whence the S which precedes the date. Rosenberg, on the 
 contrary, who, with others, including Kaufmann (p. 66), connects the subject 
 with the Dance of Death, sees in it rather " Death and the Devil in Spite of all 
 Knighthood," and explains the S as salus, being an abbreviation of an;20 salutis 
 (in the year of grace). Thausing, who says that the knight is grinning, to show 
 how little he is affected by the apparitions around him, therein agreeing with 
 Mr. Ruskin, is of opinion that the plate was intended to form one of a series 
 illustrating the four temperaments, and that the S stands for sanguinicus. (See 
 below, under Nos. 70 and 71.) Springer, following Ephrussi, conjectures that 
 
 59 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 the horseman is simply the " Christian Knight," and that the inspiration came 
 from a book, " Miles Christianus," written by Erasmus, in which said knight is 
 exhorted to do battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. As this inter- 
 pretation would need three apparitions, the poor dog, who is faithfully trotting 
 along at the heels of his master, would have to be degraded to the role of the 
 flesh ! It is interesting to note also Vasari's description. He speaks of the 
 plate (Mrs. Foster, III, p. 494) as representing " an armed man on horseback, as 
 the symbol of Human Force, which is finished with such care that the glitter 
 of the arms and the gloss of the black horse's coat are clearly to be distin- 
 guished, an effect of very difficult production in design. This bold rider had 
 Death with his hour-glass beside him, and the Devil behind. There was in the 
 same picture a rough-haired dog, executed with the most subtle delicacy that 
 can possibly be given to an engraving." Even the blades of grass under the 
 hoof of the right hind leg of the horse have become objects of discussion, some 
 holding them to indicate a trap into which the horse is about to step, while others, 
 like Mr. Ruskin (see his remarks, " Modern Painters," Part IX, Chap, iv), ex- 
 plain them as a former outline which Diirer did not know how to efface. It is 
 claimed by Grimm, who is followed by Thausing, that the horse is modeled on 
 that of Verrocchio's Colleoni. This is quite impossible, however, unless we 
 assume that Diirer, in trying to improve upon his model, falsified it after a most 
 astonishing fashion. For while Verrocchio's horse is correct in its gait, Dlirer's 
 has the position of the feet conventionally adopted by most sculptors, but which, 
 as Mr. Muybridge's investigations have shown us, is totally at variance with 
 nature. Diirer's studies for this plate (in the Ambrosiana, at Milan, and the 
 Uffizi, at Florence, according to Ephrussi), or at least the studies which he 
 utilized in it, reach back to the year 1498. (See also the remarks in regard to 
 " Stimmung," etc., under No. 71.) 
 
 70 MELANCHOLY.— B 74; H 846; R 209; M 74.— Monogram; 
 
 DATED I 5 14. 
 
 a. Very brilliant impression, with the face of the brooding genius in 
 perfect condition. Strong black ink, on white paper, practically clean 
 wiped, but rather full in the lines, and therefore the darkest parts filled. 
 All this, however, tends to add to the effect of disquietude, which is the 
 keynote of the composition. (See below, under No. 71.) From the 
 Brodhurst Collection. 
 
 b. Fine impression, printed in a softer, warmish black ink, very slight 
 
 60 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 tinting, and therefore transparent throughout. From the Ruhl Collec- 
 tion. 
 
 c. Similar to b, ink somewhat colder, the distance wiped more closely, 
 which throws it back better. Duplicate from the Berlin Cabinet, form- 
 erly in the Von Nagler Collection. 
 
 d. A very good impression, the face in quite perfect condition. Printed 
 in soft warmish ink, with a very perceptible tint all over the plate, which 
 gives to the impression a somewhat heavy appearance, and reduces the 
 contrasts too much. 
 
 e. Copy. If this is the copy by Jan Wierix, which, at first sight, it 
 would seem to be, it is a proof before letter. Alvin, No. 1576, says that 
 in the lower margin of this copy is engraved : " Johan. Wiricx. Fecit. Ann. 
 1603," and others say that this margin is generally cut away. But here 
 the margin evidently is not cut away, and yet there is no lettering. 
 Possibly it is Heller's copy No. 847, with which it agrees in size. 
 
 Impressions a and b offer again a good opportunity to observe the difference 
 between filling and tinting. The best impressions in the European cabinets ex- 
 amined are those in London and Berlin. The former is a beautiful silvery gray 
 impression, in rather coldish black ink, practically clean wiped, with only very 
 slight tinting here and there, — on the polygon for instance, — probably acci- 
 dental. The impression in Berlin is in warmish black ink, with very little tinting. 
 In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, there are no less than three impressions, one 
 belonging to the Print Collection of the Museum itself, the two others to the Gray 
 Collection. Of these, the first is the finest, a silvery gray impression, in soft 
 black ink, clean wiped, the face quite intact. The face of the brooding genius, 
 which never was a success as a piece of engraving, technically considered, soon 
 began to wear, and it is therefore often defective. The slight blemish in the 
 water, a black spot about one quarter of an inch above the polygon, seems to 
 occur in all impressions. ^ 
 
 This has always been one of the popular favorites among Diirer's works, and 
 all the more so because of its enigmatical character. Within certain limits, the 
 subject is easy enough to understand. Diirer calls it " Melancholy " in his 
 Netherlands Diary, and this title, " Melencolia. I.," is plainly indicated on the 
 print Itself But here the difficulty begins. Is the character after the word Me- 
 lencolia the figure one or the letter I ? Passavant (III, p. 153) claims that it is 
 the latter, and that it means " Melencolia i ! " — " Melancholy avaunt ! " Thau- 
 
 61 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 sing, on the other hand, sees in it merely a numeral, indicating that the print 
 is the first in a series of the Four Temperaments, but Allihn (p. 98) asks ])oint- 
 edly : " Who among the contemporaries of Diirer would have found this solu- 
 tion ? " Again, it may be objected, — If this is a number, why did not Diirer 
 number the other plates ? For further details the student is referred to Allihn, 
 p. 94 etc. Thausing (II, p. 222) writes as follows: "The winged woman 
 who, supporting her cheek in her left hand, and with a laurel wreath on her 
 loosely bound hair, is seated plunged in gloomy meditation, all the materials for 
 human labor, for art, and for science lying scattered around her, — what could 
 she be meant to represent but Human Reason, in despair at the limits imposed 
 upon her power ? " That the theory of the Four Temperaments was very popu- 
 lar at the time, and quite likely to inspire Diirer, has been well shown by Allihn. 
 Ephrussi, Springer, and Kaufmann also agree that we have here a representation 
 of one of the Four Temperaments, but they call attention to the fact that, in 
 Durer's time, these " temperaments " did not signify " moods," but classes of 
 men. " Melancholic," therefore, did not mean morose, brooding, but studious. 
 In this sense, Diirer himself belonged to the " melancholic " class, in as much as 
 he was studious. From this point of view, the print under consideration would 
 be nothing more than an allegory of study and labor. Vasari describes it 
 as follows (Mrs. Foster's translation. III, p. 491) : " On one plate, of half-folio, 
 he delineated Melancholy, surrounded by all those instruments which are wont 
 to bring thoughts of sadness to him who uses them, or to the man who listens 
 to their strains [«V.'J; the whole being so well expressed that it is not possible 
 for the burin to produce more delicate results." (See the general remarks on 
 " Stimmung," etc., under No. 71. See also Mr. Ruskin, in "Modern Painters," 
 Part IX, Chap, iv.) 
 
 Much discussion has been caused by the " magic square," with the bell over 
 it and the hour-glass to left of it. Whether we read the numbers across horizon- 
 tally, or up and down, or along the diagonals which cross it from corner to 
 corner, the sum is always 34. Cust writes, p. 63 : " There can be no doubt 
 that the so-called 'magic square' refers directly to the death of his [Diirer's] 
 mother. His mother died on May 17, 1514. Now, the figures on the square 
 can be read as follows : The two figures in the opposite corners to each other, 
 16 + 1 and i3-f4, make 17, the day of the month; so do the figures in the 
 center read crossways, 10-I-7 and ii-f6, and also the middle figures at the 
 sides read across, 5 + 12 and 8-f 9. The two middle figures in the top line, 
 3-I-2, give 5, the month in question; and the two middle figures in the bottom 
 line give the year, 15 14. Above the square a bell tolls the fatal knell, and 
 the sandglass timepiece hard by records no doubt the hour at which the sad 
 event happened." It may not be worth while to point out that there is some 
 doubt as to the exact date of the death of Diirer's mother, — whether she 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 died on May i6 or May 17 (for the evidence see Lange and Fuhse, pp. 9 
 and 13, with the footnotes, and p. 396), but Gust's reference to Anton 
 Springer's book is certainly not justified, as the author named merely speaks of 
 the sum of 34, produced by reading across, etc. In accordance with the idea 
 here developed, Gust (pp. 61-64) would bring this whole group of engravings, 
 Nos. 69, 70, and 71, into close connection with the artist's private life. 
 
 71 ST. JEROME IN HIS STUDY — B 60; H 756; R 208; 
 
 M 73. MOiNOGRAM AND DATE, I514, ON A TABLET. 
 
 a. Very beautiful, silvery impression. Soft black ink, on white paper, 
 very delicate tinting in the close v^^ork. From the Crawhall and the Mar- 
 shall Collections. 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression. Printed in somewhat warmer ink than 
 a, and a trifle heavier. From the Von Liphart Collection. 
 
 c. Copy by Jerome Wierix, "JE 13," i. e., engraved when he was only 
 thirteen years old. Alvin, No. 992. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary to have this print in delicate, thoroughly transparent 
 impressions. One of its greatest charms is the reflected light which fills the 
 room and penetrates even the shadow under the bench along the wall. This 
 effect, which is so thoroughly in accord with the subject, — expresses its 
 "Stimmung" (see the remarks below), — is lost in heavy or dull impressions. 
 It is this transparency which gives their charm to the impressions shown. Never- 
 theless, it must be said that there are still better, more " silvery " ones. An im- 
 pression of this kind is the one in the Gray Collection, Boston, — printed in a 
 soft black ink, on whitish paper, practically clean wiped, with only almost im- 
 perceptible tinting in the close work. Possibly the print might make a still sun- 
 nier effect if the ink were slightly warmer. There is nothing better, however, 
 than the impression just described to be seen in the cabinets of either Paris, 
 London, Dresden, or Berlin, in spite of the fact that it has a false margin, which, 
 as a matter of course, does not affect its artistic qualities. 
 
 It is a relief to come upon a subject among Diirer's works which is so suffi- 
 cient in itself as to need no explanation. The story of St. Jerome was popular 
 at the time (see under No. 6), and it is quite natural, therefore, that Durer 
 should have utilized the Saint, tranquilly at work upon his translation of the 
 Bible, the Vulgate, as the life-giving human element in the representation of a 
 quiet, comfortable, sunlit interior, which, in spite of Mr. Hamerton's criticisms, 
 
 63 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 will continue to please mankind by its very wealth of detail. Nor does this 
 detail disturb the general effect, as those may see who will take the trouble to 
 look at the picture through the hollow hand. The claim of the commentators 
 on Diirer, that this plate is the third in the proposed series of the " Four Tem- 
 peraments " (leaving only the choleric to be provided for), does not interfere 
 with its enjoyment, even if we accept Thausing's interpretation. " The phleg- 
 matic temperament," says he (II, p. 224), "must be the one here intended to 
 be represented, but phlegmatic in the higher sense of the word, a sense, too, 
 which was in accordance with the history of the time. Durer's St. Jerome is 
 symbolical of that humanistic learning which, coming from Italy, found its 
 chief representative in Erasmus of Rotterdam, — of that aristocratic intellectual 
 tendency which desires above all to secure the theoretical standpoint of know- 
 ledge, attaching itself exclusively to the governing classes, and keeping care- 
 fully clear of the people and their life. This wise man, were he to speak, 
 would cry out in the words of Goethe's scholar in the second part of ' Faust' : 
 
 " The present leads us to exaggeration. 
 I seek in what is written my salvation." 
 
 Vasari, without going into speculations as to its meaning, speaks very highly 
 of this plate (Mrs. Foster, III, p. 495) : " Finally, Albert Durer sent forth his 
 plate of San Jeronimo, robed in the vestments of a cardinal, and writing, with 
 the lion sleeping at his feet. In this engraving the master has imitated a 
 chamber with windows of glass, and the rays of the sun streaming through 
 them fall on the place where the saint sits writing, in a manner which is so 
 natural as to be a marvel. There are, moreover, books, clocks, writings, and a 
 large number of objects besides, all so well done that in this branch of art there 
 could not well be imagined anything better." 
 
 But, whatever the exact meaning of the " St. Jerome " and its two com- 
 panion plates may be, — whether we accept them, with Thausing, Kaufmann, 
 and others, as fragments of a supposed series of the " Four Temperaments," or 
 whether we are ready to listen to the objections of Ephrussi, — certain it is that 
 they fully deserve the fame and favor which they have so long commanded, 
 and that for this fame and favor there is quite a peculiar reason. It is evident 
 at first sight that they possess a pictorial quality which is not equaled by any 
 other of the artist's works. They are as " finished," as complete, and yet not 
 as " set," as the plates of " The Little Passion," and they display an agreeable 
 variety of texture which calls up suggestions of color. These, however, are 
 not their only, nor their best qualities. " The Knight, Death, and the Devil," 
 " Melancholy," and " St. Jerome in his Study," are, of all Durer's engravings, 
 those in which he most transcends the limits of his slavery to outward formal- 
 ism, and rises into that higher artistic realm where the emotions have control. 
 
 64 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 These three prints are truly " Stimmungsbilder," and as such they stand alone, 
 not only among the works of Diirer, but also among those of his predecessors 
 and contemporaries, certainly as far as engraving is concerned, and quite 
 probably also painting. That this is so has repeatedly been recognized in the 
 case of the " St. Jerome." " What Diirer sought above all [in this print] " says 
 Ephrussi, " is a striking effect of light, which he obtained with rare success." 
 Only later, he adds, the Dutch, and they only, and especially Rembrandt, at- 
 tained to such prodigious skill in this respect. And Springer says : " The ' St. 
 Jerome' is throughout of a thoroughly painter-like type, and for this reason is 
 epoch-making, in Durer's development, as well as in the history of engraving." 
 But what is true of the " St. Jerome " is true also of its companions, although 
 in their case it may not be so obviously apparent. " Stimmung," in a painting, 
 — there is no absolute equivalent in English for the word as here used, — is the 
 effect produced by the lighting on the mind of the beholder. It " attunes " 
 him, it puts him into a mood with the motive of the picture, it appeals directly 
 to his emotions, while the lines of the composition and the forms which they 
 produce appeal primarily to his intellect. And Diirer begins to realize here, 
 even if he never fully learned to comprehend, this power which lies in effects 
 of light : the somber gloom of " The Knight, Death, and the Devil " ; the 
 weird, unearthly glitter of the " Melancholy," with its uncertain, glinting lights; 
 the soft tranquil sunshine of the " St. Jerome," are all in accordance with their 
 several subjects, which, whether they were originally intended or not to repre- 
 sent " classes of men " or " moods," certainly call up the latter in the minds of 
 the beholder, — the steady courage of the valiant fighter for the right, undis- 
 mayed by darkness and dangers; the brooding, leading well-nigh to despair, 
 over the vain efforts of human science to lift the veil of the eternal secret, and 
 the calm content of the mind at peace with itself and the world around it. 
 Does not this unity of contrast, so to speak, — this conscious variation in the 
 lighting of these three prints, — go to prove that they belong together ? Among 
 the writers who have grasped the idea here developed, F. Lippmann is espe- 
 cially to be mentioned (" Der Kupferstich," pp. 49, 50). 
 
 One is almost tempted to despair of Mr. Ruskin's ability to be just, reading 
 such a passage as this in his " Ariadne " : " People are always talking of his 
 [Diirer's] Knight and Death, and his Melancholia, as if those were his princi- 
 pal works. They are his characteristic ones, and show what he might have 
 been without his anatomy ; but they were mere byeplay compared to his 
 Greater Fortune and Adam and Eve." Simply to uphold a notion of his, 
 Mr. Ruskin here ignores the fact that the two prints last named were done ten 
 years before the " Knight," etc., and places the work of Diirer's maturer years, 
 in which he embodied the experience of the man, below the results of earlier 
 efforts, in which the effect of experimental studies is still unpleasantly visible. 
 
 17 65 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 The " Knight, Death, and the Devil " is mentioned only twice in the Diary, 
 " Melancholy " seven, the " St. Jerome " twelve times. Diirer's price for them, 
 as for the others of his " full sheets," was eight for one florin. 
 
 72 THE BAGPIPER.— B 91 ; H 895; R 21 1 ; M 77.— Monogram ; 
 
 DATED I 5 14. 
 
 Very fine impression. Soft, warmish ink, quite dean in the lights, very 
 delicate tinting in the close work. From the Robert-Dumesnil Col- 
 lection. 
 
 All the impressions from this plate examined in Europe are in general like the 
 one here shown, /. e., warmish black ink, clean in the lights, delicate tinting in 
 the close work. In the two impressions in the Berlin Cabinet, short, faint gray 
 lines, about one eighth of an inch long, are seen in the lower right comer, in the 
 triangle formed by the upper contour of the ground and the border line. These 
 lines have the appearance of shallow broad lines, wiped out. The impression 
 in this exhibition shows traces in the same place, as if the lines had been pol- 
 ished out on the plate, but not quite successfully. The presence of these lines 
 would therefore seem to be a sign of early impression. 
 
 Springer (p. i68) and Ephrussi (p. 200) mention a study for this plate in the 
 Berlin Cabinet, but Lippmann does not reproduce it. 
 
 73 DANCING PEASANTS.— B 90 ; H 912 ; R 210 ; M 77.— 
 
 Monogram; dated 15 14. 
 
 Fine impression. Soft, warmish ink, with considerable tinting in the 
 close work. The tone of the paper aids the effect of softness. 
 
 The impressions examined vary. In Paris there is a fine medium black one, 
 clean wiped. It is very instructive to compare the workmanship, as well as the 
 printing, of this and the preceding plate with the earlier plates of similar subjects, 
 " The Peasant and His Wife," No. 23, and " The Three Peasants in Conversa- 
 tion," No. 24. 
 
 Durer really shows a sense of humor in this print, which is rare with him, — 
 in spite of the claim made by some writers that all his representations of peas- 
 ants are humorous. (See "The Three Peasants in Conversation," No. 24.) Of 
 some of the conceits in the marginal drawings for Maximilian's Prayer Book, it 
 
 66 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 may, indeed, be said that they are humorous, but with a gently ironical flavor. 
 As an expression of fun or mirth, this print stands alone among all of his works. 
 The expressiveness of the faces is also to be noted. As a rule, he does not rise 
 above a neutral expression, or at most the expression of a lasting mood. Here 
 we have the expression of momentary excitement. (See also the i-emarks under 
 Nos. 4 and 12.) 
 
 74 THE VIRGIN ON THE CRESCENT, WITH SHORT 
 
 HAIR TIED WITH A RIBBON.— B 33; H 505 ; R 204 ; 
 
 M 72. — Monogram; dated 15 14. 
 
 a. Fine, brilliant, yet delicate impression. Warmish ink, with very 
 slight tinting in the close work. From the Balmanno Collection. 
 
 b. Very similar to a, but somewhat more delicate, having been printed, 
 probably, with a softer ink. The line around this impression is drawn in 
 ink. 
 
 c. Very " silvery," — as it was printed from the worn plate, clean 
 wiped. 
 
 There are both dark and delicate impressions from this plate, these last later 
 than the former, their delicacy being due to differences in the ink used and in 
 the wiping. (See Introduction, p. xxxvi.) 
 
 The " man in the moon " is omitted. Compare Nos. 8 and 44. 
 
 75 THE VIRGIN SITTING BY A WALL — B 40; H 610; 
 
 R 205; M 71. — Monogram and date, 15 14, on a tablet. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, in soft black ink, on white paper, perceptibly 
 tinted in the close work. 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression, similar to a, but on luminous toned 
 paper. The slight tint in the sky, with an accidental gradation, gives to 
 the landscape an evening effect. Marked on the back " B 1602," which, 
 according to Fagan, shows that the print, in the year named, was in the 
 possession of Paul Behaim, of Nuremberg. 
 
 67 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 c. Very good impression, on tinted paper, witli a broad margin, but 
 more closely wiped than a and b, and therefore not as brilliant. 
 
 d. Reversed copy, undescribed. 
 
 There is a fine medium dark impression in Paris, while London has a silvery 
 gray one, in black ink, with only very slight tinting in the close work. Those 
 in Dresden and in Berlin, although delicate, are hardly " silvery," because they 
 are printed with a warmish ink, with considerable tinting. 
 
 Thausing specially cites this print in connection with his theory concerning 
 the supposed change in technical processes adopted by Diirer in 15 14. Its 
 distinctive feature is its great variety of texture. As this point has been fully 
 discussed in the Introduction (see pp. xxxiii and xxxvi), it is unnecessary to say 
 more here. 
 
 THE APOSTLES. 
 
 76 ST. THOMAS — B 48; H 667; R 207; M 75.— Monogram 
 
 AND DATE, I514 (tHE SECOND FIGURE CORRECTED), ON A 
 TABLET. 
 
 77 ST. PAUL.— B 50 ; H 686 ; R 206 ; M 76.— Monogram ; dated 
 
 1514. 
 
 a. On white paper. 
 
 b. On tinted paper. From the Fisher Collection. 
 
 78 ST. SIMON.— B 49; H 678; R 252; M 97.— Monogram ; 
 
 dated 1523. 
 
 19 ST. BARTHOLOMEW.— B 47; H 659; R 251; M 96.— 
 Monogram and date, 1523, on a tablet. 
 
 68 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 80 ST. PHILIP — B 46; H652; R264; M loi.— Monogram AND 
 
 DATE, 1526 (last figure CORRECTED), ON A TABLET. 
 
 Good, clear impressions, with very slight tinting in the close work. All, 
 except No. 77b, from the Koller Collection. 
 
 Generally speaking, the impressions from these plates are printed in a warmish 
 ink, with tinting varying from slight to heavy. This latter is the case, for in- 
 stance, with an impression of No. 78, " St. Simon," in the Gray Collection, Bos- 
 ton. On the other hand, an impression in London of No. 80, " St. Philip," is 
 printed in black ink, clean wiped, and therefore rather silvery in effect. 
 
 These plates have been placed together here, because they evidently belong 
 together, although their dates cover a period of thirteen years, the earliest being 
 dated 1514, the latest 1526. In accordance with this variation of date, they 
 vary considerably also in execution. The two of the year 15 14 hold their place 
 unchallenged among other works of the same period. They are simpler for the 
 very simple reason that the subjects are simpler. The " St. Simon," No. 78, of 
 the year 1523, is still similar to them; indeed, it reminds one very strongly, in 
 its workmanship, of No. 72, "The Bagpiper." But in the same year Diirer 
 emancipated himself from the too strict attention to finish, and hence the hand- 
 ling of No. 79, " St. Bartholomew," is much freer and bolder than that of No, 
 78, although it shows all the skill due to an absolute command of the graver. 
 In the plate of 1526, finally. No. 80, "St. Philip," the handhng becomes still 
 bolder, especially in the ground and background, in which reappear the long 
 sweeping lines of Diirer's earlier work, such as are seen, for instance, in No. 6, 
 " St. Jerome in Penance." This simpler, more vigorous handling is character- 
 istic of all of his latest work. 
 
 Diirer undoubtedly intended to include the whole of the twelve apostles in 
 this series, but it was never finished. Thausing (II, p. 220) detects certain 
 psychological tendencies in the artist about this time (1514), which he (Diirer) 
 developed " in a manner peculiarly his own," inferentially by the creation of a 
 number of character heads. " It was with this object in view that he commenced, 
 in 1514, a series of figures of the Apostles on copper, which, though never 
 finished, occupied him, as we shall see, for more than ten years, and which, in 
 connection with another idea conceived about the same time, inspired the pro- 
 duction of his last great work." The "other idea" was the theory of the Four 
 Temperaments (see Nos. 69, 70, and 71); the "last great work" is the picture 
 of the Four Apostles which Diirer presented to his native city in 1526. Thaus- 
 ing points out the striking resemblance of the St. Philip in this series, especially 
 
 69 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 in the drapery, with the St. Paul in the painting. Lippmann (No. 177) repro- 
 duces a pen-and-ink study for the St. Paul, from the Von Lanna Collection. 
 
 8 J THE MAN OF SORROWS SEATED.— B 22; H 459; R 
 213; M 80. — No monogram; dated 15 15. 
 
 a. Fair impression of the ist state, before the rusting of the plate. 
 From the Mariette Collection. 
 
 b. From the plate rusted, worked over, and enlarged on both sides, 
 evidently by a later hand (Passavant's "4th state." See below). 
 
 Really good impressions from this plate in the first state are quite rare. The 
 Paris Cabinet has one, together with an impression like b. London has an 
 only fair impression, not quite sound. (There is in London also an impression 
 of the copy with Diirer's monogram, and the date 1510. Heller, No. 461.) 
 The impression in Dresden is a bad one. In Berlin there are three impressions, 
 a very pale one from the plate before rusting, in which the lines look as if they 
 had been wiped out, a good, strong impression from the rusted plate, and a 
 third from the plate worked over. 
 
 Passavant (III, p. 149) describes four states, as follows: i. The proofs are 
 good and clean; 2. The impression is feeble and bad, the plate having already 
 worn ; 3. The plate is retouched and the stone on which Christ is seated is no 
 longer entire ; rust spots ; 4. The stone and several other parts are heavily re- 
 touched ; many rust spots. Evidently 2 is not a state, and 3 would seem 
 to be merely a " working proof" of the bungler who attempted to retouch the 
 plate. 
 
 This plate is etched, and probably Diirer's first attempt of the kind, although 
 Thausing and others are inclined to place " The Man in Despair," No. 85 of 
 this catalogue, earlier. Diirer etched six plates (here numbered 81-85 ^"^^ ^9) °" 
 iron, as is proven by the plate of" Christ in the Garden" (No. 82) which, in 
 the year 1831, was in Heller's possession, still in very good condition. We 
 know also, from plates still existing, that other old etchings, as, for instance, 
 those by the Hopfers, were done on iron. The rust spots noticeable in the 
 later impressions, which are sometimes adduced as evidence of the metal used, 
 are not, however, positive proof, since copper plates may also corrode, and their 
 roughened surface will then produce similar spots in the impressions. (See the 
 Introduction, p. xxxi.) 
 
 70 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 82 CHRIST IN THE GARDEN.— B 19; H 425; R 212; M 81.— 
 Monogram; dated 15 15. 
 
 Early impression, before the rusting of the plate, black ink, clean 
 wiped, only slight tinting here and there. Not quite solid, however, 
 that is to say, the lines not quite filled with ink, and therefore showing 
 white spots. Watermark, castle gate, Hausmann, No. 8. From the 
 Fisher Collection. 
 
 The cabinets in Paris, London, and Berlin have good early impressions, the 
 one in Berlin (where there is also a late impression) with considerable tinting. 
 The impression in Dresden was on exhibition at the time these notes were 
 made. The Gray Collection, Boston, has only a late impression, with many 
 rust spots. 
 
 Etching on iron. The plate, still in good condition, was in Heller's posses- 
 sion in the year 1831, the date of publication of his book. (See No. 81 and 
 Introduction, p. xxxi.) 
 
 Two pen-and-ink studies, in the Louvre, are reproduced by Lippmann (Nos. 
 320 and 321). Ephrussi (pp. 198, 199) also mentions two in the Albertina. 
 
 83 THE SUDARIUM DISPLAYED BY ONE ANGEL,— B 26; 
 
 H 466; R 223; M 82. — Monogram and date, 15 16, on 
 
 A TAG. 
 
 Fine early impression from the plate before it had rusted. Printed in 
 soft, warmish ink, with considerable tinting in the close work, but most 
 of the lights wiped clean. With some margin. 
 
 The heavy tinting in this impression, which has even been left in some of the 
 minor lights, is instructive in the history of printing. The earlier printers, of the 
 fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century, could not have wiped such 
 a tint. The impressions examined in the European cabinets differ considerably 
 in this respect. The one in London, from the plate in its best state, shows 
 strong tinting in all but the broad lights, and so strong in the right wing of the 
 angel (to left on the impression) and in the dark lower mass of the drapery, as 
 to produce unpleasant spots. An early impression in Dresden, on the con- 
 
 71 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 trary shows only slight tinting in the close work, and in the proof in Ber- 
 lin the tinting to be seen is mostly in the lower part of the drapery of the 
 angel who displays the sudarium. On the whole, judging also from other im- 
 pressions examined, it would seem that Diirer made, or had his printer make, 
 experiments with this plate, with a view to producing by the aid of the ink, 
 the richness and variety which the rude flat biting with which this plate is 
 executed, failed to give him. 
 
 After all that has been said above, it is hardly necessary to state that this 
 plate is also an etching on iron. According to Passavant, there are impressions 
 on modern paper, which would make it evident that the plate is still in exis- 
 tence. (See No. 8i and Introduction, p. xxxi.) 
 
 84 THE RAPE OF A YOUNG WOMAN.— B 72; H 813; 
 
 R 224; M 83. — Monogram; dated 15 16. 
 
 Fine early impression, before the rust spots. Black ink, clean wiped, 
 with only slight, evidently accidental, tinting in upper part. On white 
 paper with the curious watermark which, in its outline, resembles some- 
 what Hausmann, No. 44. 
 
 Contrary to the impressions from No. 83, those from this plate seem to be as a 
 rule fairly clean wiped. The very fine one in the Gray Collection, Boston, is 
 of the same kind. 
 
 An obscurely treated mythological subject, called also, " The Rape on the 
 Unicom," " Pluto carrying off Proserpine," " Nessus carrying off Dejaneira," and 
 " The Ravishment." It ranks, as an enigma, with such early plates as " The 
 Rape of Amymone," No. 16, and " Hercules," No. 17. 
 
 Etching on Iron. (See No. 81 and Introduction, p. xxxi.) 
 
 85 THE MAN IN DESPAIR.— B 70; H 882; R 225; M 79.— 
 Without monogram or date. 
 
 Fairly good impression. Soft ink, most of the lights clean wiped ; 
 heavy tinting in the close work; gray spots, wiped out {t. e., "creves"), 
 below, in places where the lines are very close together. 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 Paris has a fine impression, in warmish ink, with much tinting, and the one in 
 London is of the same kind. In the BerHn Cabinet, there is an only fair im- 
 pression, black ink, no tinting, wiped out here and there. 
 
 Of all of Diirer's compositions, this bears off the palm as being the most 
 puzzling. Heller calls it " The Bath," on the authority of some old manuscript, 
 and presumes the woman to have been drowned, the naked man in despair to 
 be her husband, and the satyr, etc., sympathizing spectators. Hiisgen, accord- 
 ing to Heller, dubbed it " The Dismayed Husband." Thausing and others 
 maintain that it is merely an aggregation of studies taken at random, — hence 
 the title "Study of Five Figures," — and that it is, therefore, Diirer's first essay 
 in etching. In the principal figure, the " man in despair," Thausing detects 
 Italian influences, and even recognizes in it the position of Michelangelo's 
 " Cupid," in the South Kensington Museum. There is a drawing by Diirer 
 (see the Biographical Illustrations, p. li) of a man, very similar to the figure 
 seen in profile to the left, which Thausing declares to be a portrait of Andrew, 
 Albert's brother, a declaration stoutly opposed by Ephrussi. 
 
 Etched on iron. (See No. 8i.) Although without monogram or date, this 
 plate is universally accepted as by Diirer. The opinions as to its date differ, 
 however. Heller places it between 1507 and 1514; Retberg about 15 16. 
 Thausing, who, as above stated, sees in the subject merely an aggregation of 
 studies thrown together at random, argues that it is a mere trial plate, and 
 consequently Diirer's first essay in etching. It is, however, altogether too 
 elaborate for a mere trial plate, and, moreover, technically the most perfect, 
 because the most delicate, of the artist's etchings. Retberg's suggestion is, 
 therefore, the most probable. 
 
 86 THE VIRGIN ON THE CRESCENT, WITH CROWN 
 OF STARS AND SCEPTER.— B 32; H 526; R 221 ; 
 M 84. — Monogram; dated 1516. 
 
 Very fine impression. Soft, somewhat warmish black ink, with very- 
 perceptible tinting throughout the close work. From the Fisher Col- 
 lection. 
 
 The impressions from this plate also vary considerably. In London there is a 
 beautiful delicate one, warmish ink, clean wiped. Dresden has a fair impres- 
 sion, black ink, clean wiped, producing a grayish effect. The Berlin impression 
 is also fine and delicate, warmish ink, clean wiped, with only slight tinting, 
 nevertheless rather dull in general effect, owing to the color of the paper. The 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 Gray Collection in Boston, finally, has an impression in strong black ink, clean 
 wiped. 
 
 Concerning the opinions of Thausing and Middleton, as to the technic of 
 this plate, see the Introduction, p. xxxiii and Middleton's list, No. 84. 
 
 Again, the "man in the moon" is left out in the crescent. (Compare Nos. 
 8, 44, and 74.) 
 
 87 THE VIRGIN CROWNED BY TWO ANGELS.— B 39; 
 
 H 547; R 226; M 87. — Monogram and date, 15 18, on a 
 
 SQUARE STONE. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Printed in pure black ink, practically clean 
 wiped, with slight tinting in the closest work. From the Mariette and 
 Ruhl Collections. 
 
 b. Also a very fine, but more delicate impression. Soft warmish black 
 ink, with very delicate tinting in the close work. From the Koller Col- 
 lection. 
 
 In Paris there is a brilliant dark impression. That in London is a very fine sil- 
 very one, in black ink, absolutely clean wiped. Dresden has a delicate impres- 
 sion, but not " silvery," as the ink is rather warmish, and there is very slight 
 tinting in the close work. The impression in Berlin is a very beautiful one, on 
 the whole similar to the one in Dresden. 
 
 Speaking in general of Diirer's works done between the years 1513 and 1520, 
 Thausing says (II, p. 134) : " The engravings of the Virgin belonging to this 
 period are as unattractive as the paintings. The most agreeable among them, 
 the 'Virgin Crowned by two Angels,' of 15 18, is taken from older studies, — at 
 least the beautiful drawing for the drapery on her knees, in the Albertina, be- 
 longs to the year 1508." Two composition sketches for this plate are published by 
 Ephrussi (pp. 194, 195) and by Lippmann (Nos. 94 and 265). For Mr. Ruskin's 
 estimate of it, see Lecture IV and the Appendix to his " Ariadne Florentina." 
 The period here alluded to (1513-20) is that in which Diirer was principally 
 occupied with the designs for the woodcut publications of the Emperor Maxi- 
 milian, and Thausing makes these designs directly responsible for the inferior 
 quality of the paintings and engravings belonging to the same period. Never- 
 theless, it is impossible to deny that this Virgin is, in a worldly aspect, the 
 prettiest and most elegant of all her sisters in Diirer's work, even if it must be 
 admitted that the pose seems to betray the constraint of the model. 
 
 74 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 88 THE SMALL CRUCIFIXION.— B 23; H 435; R 227; 
 
 M 86. — Without monogram or date. 
 
 a. Very beautiful impression of the original according to Passavant. 
 Printed in soft black ink, with very slight tinting, in the close work. 
 
 b. Fine impression in brownish black ink, of the original according to 
 Bartsch, but classed by Passavant as Copy A. From the collection of the 
 Earl of Aylesford. 
 
 c. Fine impression in warmish black, classed by Passavant as Copy B. 
 
 However unreliable Passavant may often be, there can be no doubt that he is 
 correct in his judgment as to the various renderings of this celebrated engraving. 
 The comparison of the three versions here shown makes it evident that only the 
 version represented by a (see Fig. i of the enlargements on the accompany- 
 ing plate) has Diirer's vigor. The two others, fine and wonderfully skilful as 
 they are, are less virile. Copy A (Fig. 2 of the enlargements) is certainly very 
 close and misleading, but in the presence of the original even it loses somewhat, 
 while Copy B (Fig. 3), beautiful as it is in itself, is altogether too soft and pretty 
 as compared with the original. 
 
 As the signs of distinction given by Passavant and Bartsch are difficult of 
 identification, especially in impressions that are not quite fresh, others, much 
 more easily recognizable, are here pointed out for the three versions shown. 
 They can be readily found on the enlargements on the accompanying plate, but 
 for still further convenience of consultation they are repeated here in isolation. 
 
 Two such signs are given : — First, the rays, which, emanating from the head 
 of Christ, dart obliquely upward toward the left (of the plate), and cross the 
 right arm (left of plate) of the cross, at its junction with the upright beam; and 
 secondly, a fold in the lower part of the garment of the most prominent of the 
 three Holy Women. Figs, i and 2 are from Passavant's original (Fig. i of the 
 enlargements on the plate), Figs. 3 and 4 are from Copy A (Fig. 2 on the plate), 
 
 I. 
 
 2. 
 
 3- 
 
 4- 
 
 S- 
 
 6. 
 
 75 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 and Figs. 5 and 6 from Copy B (Fig. 3 on the plate). Elaborate descriptions 
 are unnecessary in the presence of these illustrations. It will be sufficient to say 
 that the number and the direction of the rays, and the figure formed by the 
 small hook-shaped fold with the long fold to left of it, are the characteristics 
 more especially to be noted. 
 
 There are still other signs of recognition, which it is easier to find than those 
 given by either Bartsch or Passavant. Note, for instance, the face of the soldier 
 who stands behind St. John. In the original the features are indicated by a few 
 strong straight lines, after the manner of Rembrandt. In Copy A there are 
 similar lines, but they can be seen only with difficulty. In Copy B, finally, there 
 are two dots for the eyes, one for the nose, to indicate the nostrils, and a very 
 slight indication of a mouth. The shoulder of the soldier also differs. In the 
 original, two long rays, from the halo of St. John, cross the entire shoulder, and 
 of these the upper one forms, with a shading line near the contour of the shoul- 
 der, Passavant's " crochet," i. <?., a hook, something like a boat-hook. In Copy 
 A no rays cross the shoulder. In Copy B there are again two rays, but they do 
 not quite cross the shoulder, they are rather close together, and they run parallel 
 to each other, whereas in the original the two long rays are separated by two 
 shorter ones, and diverge a trifle. 
 
 Passavant mentions four further copies: — C, by Jerome Wierix, with the INRI 
 not reversed, therein following Bartsch, while Alvin, No. 233, knows only of a 
 copy by Ant. Wierix; D, said to be very bad, the INRI again not reversed, 
 and two by Carl Kappes, of which especially the first is said to be " excessive- 
 ment trompeuse." 
 
 This marvelous little engraving, although without monogram, is undoubtedly 
 by Durer, who mentions it in a letter to Spalatin, dated at the beginning of the 
 year 1520 : " I send also two little printed crosses with this; they are engraved 
 on gold and one is for your honor." As it was engraved for the Emperor Max- 
 imilian (see below), who died January 12, 15 19, it cannot have been done later 
 than 1 5 18, which is also Retberg's conclusion. The earlier dates named by 
 Heller and by Hausmann are out of the question. 
 
 The " Little Round Crucifixion," — a niello, as the reversed position of the 
 letters INRI shows, — is the smallest and one of the most celebrated of Diirer's 
 acknowledged engravings. It was engraved on gold, and originally ornamented 
 the hilt of a sword belonging to the Emperor Maximilian I. Thausing in his 
 first edition (II, pp. 70, 71) describes a sword in the Ambras Collection, at 
 Vienna, as the one which originally held the precious plate, although the place 
 it once occupied is now filled by a silver plate of later insertion. Wendelin 
 Boeheim, on the contrary ("Rep. fur Kunstw.," Ill, pp. 276-87), shows that this 
 cannot be the sword in question, and Thausing, in his second German edition 
 (II, p. 73), accepts his conclusions. The print enjoys also the distincdon of 
 
 76 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 being far and away the dearest for its size. As high as $350 has been paid 
 for a* very fine impression. Calculated at so much a square inch, that is con- 
 siderably dearer than Rembrandt's " Hundred Guilders Piece," at $10,000. 
 
 89 THE CANNON.— B 99; H 1017; R 228; M 85.— Mono- 
 gram ; DATED 15 18. 
 
 Late impression, from the rusted plate, very dull in lower right corner. 
 From the Von Derschau Collection, and, as a duplicate, from the Berlin 
 Cabinet. 
 
 Of the European cabinets named, only that in Berlin has an impression from 
 the uncorroded plate, clean wiped. The impressions in Paris, London, and 
 Dresden, as well as the one in the Gray Collection, Boston, all show more or 
 less the effects of rusting. 
 
 Really good early impressions, from the plate before rusting, seem to be rare. 
 It was probably very popular in its day, and the early impressions were used up, 
 so that those now met with are of later date. 
 
 " A large field-piece, with the arms of Nuremberg on it and surrounded by 
 footsoldiers, is being looked at with respectful astonishment by five Turks, for 
 whom it is no doubt intended as a warning, and in the background are the 
 plains of the native land it is destined to protect" (Thausing, II, p. 66). This 
 plate, called also " Die Niirnberger Feldschlange " (The Nuremberg Field-Ser- 
 pent), is the last of the six etchings on iron (see No. 8i) done by Diirer. He 
 had evidently given up the process as unsatisfactory, but in this case used 
 it once more, as an expeditious method for placing upon the market a plate 
 intended to satisfy a transient popular demand. The fear of the Turk was then 
 strong in Germany, the first siege of Vienna occurring in 1529. (See No. 81 
 and Introduction, p. xxxi.) 
 
 90 THE VIRGIN NURSING THE CHILD.— B 36; H 576; 
 
 R 232; M 88. — Monogram and date, 15 19, on a square 
 
 STONE. 
 
 a. Fine dark impression. Rather vi^armish black ink, practically clean 
 vi^iped, with only very slight tinting. From the Artaria Collection. 
 
 b. Equally fine, but more delicate impression, in somewhat coldish 
 
 77 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 ink, practically clean wiped. From the Prince de Paar and the Ruhl 
 Collections. 
 
 The impressions in the cabinets at Paris, London, and Dresden are delicately 
 grayish, having been printed in black ink, with very slight tinting. A full, 
 somewhat rough-looking impression, although clean wiped, but in very black 
 ink, is in the Berlin Cabinet. The Gray Collection, Boston, has a fine impres- 
 sion, in strong black ink, practically clean wiped, on white paper. 
 
 Thausing (II, p. 134) says of this plate and B 38 (No. 95 of this catalogue) 
 that they " are without any particular charm or dignity, being taken quite casu- 
 ally from burgher life, and are only remarkable for the soft gray tone of the 
 engraving," which gray tone, however, depends, as we have seen, to some extent, 
 on the printing, although the execution is in itself very delicate, and much 
 simpler than many of the plates which precede it. A slight composition sketch 
 is published by Ephrussi (p. 191), and another drawing which was utilized for 
 this print is mentioned by him (p. 188). 
 
 9\ ST. ANTHONY.— B 58; H 695; R 233 ; M 89.— Monogram 
 
 AND DATE, I519, ON A TABLET. 
 
 a. Fine delicate impression, soft black ink, clean wiped, with almost 
 no tinting in the close work. 
 
 b. Late impression, from the worn plate, printed in red. 
 
 Paris has a fair gray impression, London a fine one, in warmish ink, generally 
 speaking also grayish, but with heavy tinting in the cloak of the saint, which 
 produces an unpleasant spot. The impression in Dresden, in warmish ink, is 
 delicate, but rather muddy, due to tinting and grayish paper. In the Berlin 
 Cabinet there is a fine delicate impression, in warmish ink, with but slight tint- 
 ing. The Gray Collection, in Boston, has a very delicate impression, printed 
 in soft black ink, very closely wiped. 
 
 St. Anthony, an Egyptian saint, not to be confounded with St. Anthony of 
 Padua, has inspired many artists, from Schongauer down to the disciples of the 
 modern French-Italian school ; but the scenes generally chosen are those of his 
 torment and temptation by demons, in which the fantastic or the voluptuous 
 forms assumed by the latter are the main point. Durer represents another 
 phase in the life of the saint, — his flight from the world and application to study 
 and prayer. The pig which often accompanies St. Anthony, as the symbol of 
 the lusts which he conquered, Diirer has omitted ; the bell attached to his staff, 
 
 78 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 signifying his power to drive away evil spirits, is here. The city in the distance 
 is generally supposed to be Nuremberg, but Hausmann says that it is strikingly 
 like Marburg. Thausing rates the plate very highly. " For depth of concep- 
 tion," he says (II, pp. 134, 135), "and tenderness of execution and feeling, this 
 small plate is equal to the best engravings of former years. Diirer never did 
 anything again equal to it." Heller states that of the copy described by him 
 under No. 699 there are impressions in red, but the impression in that color 
 here shown is evidently from the original plate, badly worn. In his Diary, 
 Diirer classes this print among tlie " half sheets," of which he sold twenty for one 
 florin. 
 
 92 PEASANT AT MARKET.— B 89; H 931 ; R 235 ; M 90. 
 
 — Monogram on a stone; dated 15 19. 
 
 Very good, clear impression. Black ink, clean wiped, on white paper. 
 
 The impressions in Paris and London, and the two in Berlin, as well as the 
 better of the two in the Gray Collection, Boston, all very fine, are similar in 
 printing to the one here shown. In Dresden this print is wanting. The 
 curious spots on the eggs and the little spot on the peasant's coat, immediately 
 above his right knee, seem to be on all impressions. 
 
 The simplicity of treatment in this plate carries us back even beyond the 
 peasant subjects of 1514, No. 72, " The Bagpiper," and No. 73, " The Dancing 
 Peasants," to such early work as No. 23, " The Peasant and his Wife." 
 
 Allihn, p. 90, mentions this engraving in connection with the other represen- 
 tations of peasants of supposed satirical tendency. In the faces of the couple 
 he detects " exemplary stupidity." All the prints of this size, including the 
 small Madonnas, Diirer classes as " quarter sheets," of which he gave forty-five 
 for one florin. 
 
 93 ALBERT OF BRANDENBURG (THE SMALLER).— B 
 
 102; H 1024; R 234; M 91. — Monogram; dated 
 MDXIX. 
 
 Very beautiful, delicate impression, printed in soft, warmish black ink, 
 with very slight tinting in the close work. Without text on the back. 
 
 The impressions in all the cabinets examined are of the same character, as re- 
 gards printing, — rather warmish ink, very slight tinting in tlie close work, the 
 
 79 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 finest being that in the cabinet at Berlin. An impression equally fine is in the 
 Gray Collection, Boston. 
 
 Called also "The Little Cardinal," to distinguish it from B 103 (No. 98 of 
 this catalogue), known as " The Great Cardinal." Albert, or Albrecht, Mar- 
 grave of Brandenburg, born 1489 or 1490, died 1545, was the man who, after 
 he had received the pope's authority to sell indulgences within his diocese, on 
 condition of making over to the papal treasury one-half of the profits, appointed 
 the Dominican Tezel, and thus indirectly caused Luther to post his ninety-five 
 theses. His titles are given in the inscription on the upper part of the plate : 
 " Albert, by divine mercy the most holy Roman church's titular presbyter cardi- 
 nal of St. Chrysogonus, archbishop of Mayence and Magdeburg, primate elec- 
 tor of the empire, administrator of Halberstadt, margrave of Brandenburg." 
 The lower inscription reads : " Thus were his eyes, his cheeks, his features. 
 Aged 29, 1519." The plate was engraved for a book of relics, etc., belonging 
 to the church of Sts. Maurice and Mary Magdalen at Halle, which was pub- 
 lished in 1520. In a letter written by Diirer to George Spalatin, at the begin- 
 ning of the year 1520, this plate is mentioned as follows : " At the same time I 
 send herewith to my most gracious lord three impressions of an engraving on 
 copper, which I engraved after my most gracious lord of Mayence and at his 
 request. I sent and presented the plate to His Electoral Grace with 200 im- 
 pressions; in return His Electoral Grace has shown himself gracious to me, for 
 His Electoral Grace has made me a present of 200 florins in gold and 20 ells 
 of damask for a coat." Mr. Ruskin justly objects to the reflections of windows 
 in the eyes of most of Diirer's portraits, as in this one. They are due to an 
 afifectation of knowledge, displayed with a childish pride in lately acquired 
 powers of observation, which was quite characteristic of the time. Neverthe- 
 less, this portrait not only stands preeminent for delicacy and noble simplicity 
 among those engraved by Diirer, but it will always be ranked among the best 
 portraits engraved anywhere, and at any time. The later impressions are those 
 from the book above mentioned, with type printing on the back, or rather, the 
 engraving is printed on the back of the title of the book above alluded to. 
 For further details, see Heller, according to whom these impressions with type 
 are the best, — which would seem to be doubtful, unless there should also be 
 later impressions without type, printed from the plate after it had been used in 
 the book. From Diirer's letter, as here quoted, it is evident that at least 200 
 proofs were printed before it was used in the book. 
 
 Ephrussi (p. 260) mentions two studies, one in the Kunsthalle, Bremen, 
 evidently rejected by Lippmann, as he does not reproduce it, the other in the 
 Albertina, at Vienna. 
 
 80 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 94 THE VIRGIN CROWNED BY ONE ANGEL.— B 37; 
 
 H 537; R 236; M 92. — Monogram and date, 1520, on a 
 
 TABLET. 
 
 a. Very fine impression. Printed in soft, warmish ink, the tinting 
 quite pronounced, the broad lights wiped clean. From the Mariette 
 and Von Liphart Collections. 
 
 b. Also a fine impression, with still heavier tinting, and printed on 
 paper of a warmer tone than a. Broad margin. Watermark, a jug. 
 
 These impressions are remarkable for their tinting, more especially b, in which 
 it is rather too heavy. (Compare with No. 95.) The impressions examined in 
 Europe vary considerably. In Paris there is a grayisli impression, lacking 
 brilliancy. The impression in London, very fine and delicate, is printed in 
 warmish ink, with slight tinting in the close work. That in Dresden is fair, 
 very delicate, rather warmish ink, slight tinting, — on the whole, a trifle dingy. 
 The one in Berlin is quite artificially printed, — in general rather delicate, 
 warmish ink, clean wiped in the lights, but with very heavy tinting in the 
 close work on the right, the distance on the left kept much lighter. 
 
 "Stiff and spiritless," says Thausing (II, p. 134), and this severe criticism 
 must be admitted, however unwillingly. Most of these Madonnas have the 
 flavor of market ware, but even in them the conscientiousness of the artist 
 did not permit him to slight his work, and they are, therefore, technically 
 quite perfect. It may not be amiss to note here that in Heller's description 
 of the copy. No. 538 of his list, the first two of the explanatory figures have 
 been accidentally reversed, so that, according to their evidence, the original 
 would be taken for the copy. 
 
 There was a study for this print in the Klinkosch Collection. A reproduc- 
 tion is given in the auction catalogue of this collection (Vienna : C. J. Wawra, 
 1889). 
 
 95 THE VIRGIN WITH THE CHILD SWADDLED.— B 38; 
 
 H 585; R 237; M 93. — Monogram and date, 1520, on a 
 
 TABLET. 
 
 a. Very fine impression, in soft brownish-black ink. Concerning the 
 printing, see below. From the Kalle Collection. 
 19 81 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 b. Also a very fine impression, but differently treated in the printing. 
 See below. From the Artaria Collection. 
 
 These two impressions are even more interesting than those described under 
 No. 94, as specimens of sixteenth century " artificial printing," employed for the 
 purpose of reaching effects, which the engraved lines, unaided, would not pro- 
 duce. Indeed, they take the lead, in this respect, among all the specimens in the 
 collection here shown. In a a very heavy tint has been left on the plate 
 where the shadows are deepest, that is to say, in the lower half of the right side ; 
 the broad lights on the figure, etc., are carefully wiped ; the distance on the left 
 is also pretty closely wiped, with only very slight tinting, while a medium tint 
 has been left in the sky on the right side. The result is airiness, marred some- 
 what, however, by the too heavy tint in the darkest parts. In impression b, on 
 the other hand, the rather heavy tinting extends all over the plate, the lights 
 only excepted. The result is more harmony and greater richness, with a loss of 
 airiness or spaciousness. In other words, the distance comes forward too much. 
 The impressions seen in the European cabinets vary in printing. In Paris 
 there is a dark impression, with much tinting ; in London a clear one, warmish 
 ink, with only slight tinting in the close work. The impressions in Dresden 
 and in Berlin are quite similar to each other, — warm ink, clean wiped in the 
 lights, with very heavy tinting in the close work. In spite of the differences 
 described, all these impressions are fine. 
 
 This is another of the Virgins of the period from 15 13 to 1520, so severely 
 criticized, — not unjustly, — by Thausing. What was said about " market ware " 
 and the " conscientiousness " of the artist under No. 94 appHes here also. 
 
 96 ST. CHRISTOPHER WITH THE HEAD TURNED TO 
 THE LEFT — B 51; H 708; R 245 ; M 94.— Mono- 
 gram AND DATE, I 52 I, ON A SQUARE STONE. 
 
 Fine impression. Printed in a soft warmish ink, rather heavy tinting 
 in the close work, only the broad lights wiped clean. From the Mar- 
 iette and Von Liphart Collections. 
 
 From the first impression produced by this print and its mate. No. 97, in im- 
 pressions like the one here shown, one is inclined to class them with the later 
 plates of " The Little Passion," with which they share, indeed, the desire to 
 produce a completely finished picture. They are, however, somewhat more 
 open in the lining, and the printing is much more " artificial " in most of the 
 
 82 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 proofs examined. Impressions in black ink, with very little tinting, are, indeed, 
 met with, but those of the kind here shown, — that is to say, printed in a warm 
 ink, with much tinting, only the broad lights wiped clean (note, for instance, 
 that even the torch held by the hermit in the distance is very perceptibly tinted), 
 — seem to be decidedly in the majority. This applies more especially to No. 96. 
 In London, for instance, there is an impression from the plate in its best condi- 
 tion in ink of a disagreeably cold reddish black, with altogether too much tint- 
 ing, only the broad lights having been wiped clean. In the very fine impres- 
 sion in Berlin there is also a heavy tint throughout, with only the broad lights 
 wiped quite clean. Dresden, on the other hand, has an impression in pure 
 black ink, with only slight tinting in the close work, and therefore " silvery," 
 but rather flat looking, while the one in Paris is described as " dry " in the 
 notes used in compiling this catalogue. The impression in the Gray Collection, 
 Boston, is again quite artificial in the printing. The ink is of a warmish black, 
 and there is very heavy tinting in the cloak of the saint, on his staff, on his legs, 
 and in the water. The broad lights on the figures, the halo of the Christ child, and 
 the stone bearing the monogram, are quite clean wiped. A slight tint has been 
 left on the distance, but the hermit and the lower part of the flame of his torch 
 have been wiped clean. That the absolutely clean wiping of these lights was 
 done consciously is shown in the distance on the left, where it extends into the 
 tree seen at the back of the saint, so that part of it is clean and the other part 
 tinted. (See No. 97.) 
 
 97 ST. CHRISTOPHER WITH THE HEAD TURNED TO 
 THE RIGHT.— B 52 ; H 715 ; R 246 ; M 94.— Mono- 
 gram AND DATE, 1 52 1, ON A SQUARE BLOCK OF STONE. 
 
 a. Fine impression. Printed in black ink, practically clean vi^iped, with 
 only very slight tinting. From the Balmanno Collection. 
 
 b. Also a fine impression, practically clean w^iped, with only very slight 
 tinting, but printed with a warmer ink, and therefore softer in effect. 
 
 The tinting in both the impressions above described is not nearly as heavy as in 
 No. 96, and the lights in the distance are clean wiped. The impressions in the 
 cabinets at Paris, London, and Berhn are in general like those here shown, the 
 one in Berhn, in black ink, being wiped especially clean. Dresden has a fine 
 warmish impression, with much tinting, more particularly in the drapery of the 
 saint. The impression in the Gray Collection shows a perceptible tint, only the 
 broad lights on the figures having been wiped clean. 
 
 83 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 In his Netherlands Diary Diirer records, in the month of May, 1521, that he 
 drew four small St. Christophers on gray paper, heightened with white, for his 
 friend Joachim Patenier, "the good landscape-painter," and it has been sug- 
 gested that we may have two of these designs in Nos. 96 and 97, both of which 
 are dated 1521. Compare, however, Ephrussi, pp. 338-40, who reproduces a 
 composition sketch for No. 96, dated 1517. Vasari mentions both of these 
 plates, Nos. 96 and 97, with commendation, but in his usual careless manner: 
 " He also twice designed St. Christopher bearing the Infant Christ, in two distinct 
 manners, both exceedingly beautiful, and finished with great care, the separate 
 tresses of the hair finely distinguished and every part very carefully made out." 
 (Mrs. Foster's translation, III, p. 489.) 
 
 Of plates dealing with religious subjects there are only three which bear a 
 later date than 1521, and these belong to the series of Apostles, begun much 
 earlier, in 1514. They are " St. Simon " and " St. Bartholomew," dated 1523, 
 and "St. Philip," dated 1526. (See Nos. 78, 79, and 80.) For the rest, Diirer 
 henceforth confined himself to portraits in his engraving. 
 
 98 ALBERT OF BRANDENBURG (THE LARGER).— B 103; 
 H 1035; R 254; M 98. — Monogram on a tag; dated 
 MDXXIII. 
 
 Very fine, delicate impression, in soft black ink, clean wiped. Water- 
 mark, a dog, Hausmann, No. 13. From the Artaria Collection. 
 
 Paris : Delicate gray impression, tinting in the close work, unfortunately smudged 
 in the printing about the tip of the nose. London : Pure black ink, hnes clear, 
 but the plate tinted all over, and therefore not attractive. Dresden : Delicate, 
 ink rather warmish, generally speaking clean wiped. Berlin : Fine impression, 
 warmish black ink, tinting in the close work. 
 
 Passavant says that there are impressions from the retouched plate, and then 
 adds: "The subsequent impressions have the No. 27 on the tablet below to 
 right." If all of this is to be taken literally, — which is not always safe with 
 Passavant, — there would appear to be three states of this plate. Really fine 
 impressions seem to be quite scarce. 
 
 Called also " The Great Cardinal," to distinguish it from " The Little Cardi- 
 nal," B 102 (No. 93 of this catalogue). The inscriptions are identical with those 
 on No. 93, except that the age has been changed to 33, and the date to 1523. 
 In a letter to Albert, dated September 4, 1523, Diirer complains that, although 
 he had forwarded the plate, with 500 impressions, some time ago, its receipt had 
 
 84 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 not yet been acknowledged. There are two other engravings by Diirer dated 
 1523, the Apostles " St. Simon" and " St. Bartholomew" (Nos. 78 and 79). 
 A drawing, facing towards the left, is published by Lippmann No. 329. 
 
 99 FREDERIC THE WISE, ELECTOR OF SAXONY.— 
 
 B 104; H 1039; R 255; M 99. — Monogram (the D re- 
 versed AND THEN CORRECTED) ; DATED MDXXIIII. 
 
 a. Fine impression. Printed in soft black ink, with very trifling tinting 
 in the most closely worked parts only. The paper is somewhat damaged, 
 but not enough to interfere with the beauty of the impression. 
 
 b. Equally fine impression, in somewhat warmer ink. Slightly cut 
 above and on left and right sides, somewhat more below. False margin, 
 very skilfully supplied, the lower part of the frame around the inscription 
 and the line surrounding the portrait drawn with the pen. Watermark, 
 a jug. (See below.) 
 
 Paris : Delicate gray impression, much tinting in the close work on the right, 
 not quite sound in some parts. London : Two impressions, one of them on 
 satin, this latter very weak. The impression on paper is a good one, ink slightly 
 warmish black, a trifle muddy in the dark part of the fur on the left shoulder 
 (right side of the print). Berlin : Two impressions, one on satin, this latter 
 again rather weak. The other, on paper, is wonderfully fine, pure black ink, 
 with slight tinting. Bremen, Kunsthalle : Like the Berhn impression on paper, 
 but not as good. Watermark, a jug. 
 
 Impression b is exhibited here for the purpose of permitting a correction to 
 be made. In the catalogue of the Diirer Exhibition held at the Museum of 
 Fine Arts, in Boston, 1888-89, this same impression was shown, and the 
 differences in the margin between it and another like a were pointed out as 
 "unaccountable." The false margin and the restorations, most skilfully done, 
 had escaped the writer at the time. The sharp and experienced eye of Mr. E. 
 G. Kennedy, of Messrs. H. Wunderlich & Co., has since detected them. The 
 " unaccountable differences " are, therefore, explained. 
 
 It is stated that there are later impressions from the retouched plate. 
 
 Frederic III, called the Wise, born January 17, 1463, died May 5, 1525, elector 
 and duke of Saxony, was a patron of science, the founder of the university of 
 Wittenberg, and a supporter of the Reformation, although he never openly 
 espoused the doctrines of Luther. He was one of the earliest patrons of Diirer, 
 
 85 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 who painted for him, probably, the Dresden altar-piece (Thausing, I, pp. i68- 
 170), one of the first of his more important works, as well as other later pic- 
 tures. The inscription under the portrait reads as follows : " Sacred to Christ. 
 He favored the word of God with great piety, worthy to be reverenced forever 
 by posterity. For the Lord Frederic, duke of Saxony, arch-marshal, elector of 
 the holy Roman empire, Albert Diirer of Nuremberg made this. B. M. F. V. 
 V." Again Durer has thought it necessary to indicate the reflections of the 
 windows in the eyes. 
 
 A silver-point drawing in the collection of M. A. Armand, of Paris, is men- 
 tioned by Ephrussi (p. 332). 
 
 JOO WILIBALD PIRKHEIMER.— B io6; H 1076; R 256; M 100. 
 — Monogram; dated MDXXIV. 
 
 a. Good impression. Soft black ink, clean wiped. 
 
 b. Impression in a soft warmish ink, with considerable tinting in the 
 close work, very perceptible in the jerkin which is seen in the opening of 
 the fur collar, where it produces the effect of a wash of India ink. 
 
 c. Copy. Heller, No. 1079. 
 
 d. Copy. Heller, No. 1080, the date, which is wanting in this copy, 
 added in ink. 
 
 The two proofs exhibited show that there are clean wiped and tinted impressions. 
 Those in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin are clean wiped, varying, however, 
 in the color of the ink used, from pure black (BerHn) to rather warmish 
 (Dresden). The impression in the Gray Collection, Boston, is also absolutely 
 clean wiped, black ink. 
 
 According to Heller and to Passavant, there are impressions from the re- 
 touched plate. 
 
 Wilibald Pirkheimer, the celebrated patrician, humanist, and councilor of 
 Nuremberg, Diirer's life-long and most intimate friend, to whom the letters from 
 Venice were addressed, was bom December 5, 1470, and died December 22, 1530. 
 The inscription under his portrait, which, according to Thausing (II, p. 244), 
 Pirkheimer himself dictated to Diirer, may be rendered as follows : " The mind 
 endures; the rest is Death's." As usual, the artist could not withstand the 
 temptation to show the reflections of the windows in the eyes. 
 
 Lippmann (No. 142) reproduces a drawing in the Blasius Collection, at 
 Breslau, and Ephrussi mentions another, dated, however, 1503, in the Du- 
 mesnil Collection, both in profile to left. 
 
 86 
 
DRY-POINTS, AND ETCHINGS. 
 
 JOJ PHILIP MELANCHTHON.— B 105; H 1056; R 265 ; M 102. 
 — Monogram; dated 1526. 
 
 Fine clear impression. Printed in pure black ink, tinting in the close 
 work, especially the coat on the shoulder. Watermark, a jug. 
 
 Of the impressions in Paris, London, Dresden, and Berlin, those in the two 
 cities first named are wiped cleaner than those in Dresden and Berlin, which 
 show the tinting of the coat on the shoulder quite perceptibly. In Berlin there 
 is also a counterproof. The impression in the Gray Collection, Boston, in 
 black ink, shows but very little tinting on the coat. 
 
 Melanchthon, the colleague of Luther in the work of the Reformation, celebrated 
 for his learning as " Prseceptor Germanise," was bom February i6, 1497, and 
 died April 19, 1560. The inscription under the portrait says that" Diirer could 
 depict the features of the living Philip, but the skilled hand could not depict his 
 mind." The trick of the window reflections in the eyes verges upon the ridicu- 
 lous in this case, as the indication of clouds in the background shows that 
 Melanchthon is supposed to be standing in the open air. Nevertheless the por- 
 trait hardly deserves the unmeasured condemnation of Mr. Ruskin, who in his 
 "Ariadne Florentina" (Lecture V) says that it is not like Melanchthon, "nor 
 like any other person in his senses, but like a madman looking at somebody 
 who disputes his hobby." According to Kaufmann ("Diirer," p. 124), "it is 
 incontestably the best portrait of Melanchthon." 
 
 102 ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM.— B 107; H 1047; R266; 
 M 103.— Monogram; dated MDXXVI. 
 
 Very fine impression. Slightly warmish black, clean wiped in the 
 lights, delicate tinting in the close work. 
 
 Paris : Weak gray impression, showing many scratches in the plate. London : 
 About as fine an impression as one may wish to see, — ink a rich warm black, 
 tinting in close work, even the broad lights not wiped absolutely clean. Dres- 
 den: Wanting. Berhn : Impression on satin. The plate was evidently in good 
 condition when this impression was taken, but it is, nevertheless, gray and in- 
 effective. Boston, Print Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts : Good im- 
 pression, from the bequest of Charles Sumner, soft black ink, slight tinting in 
 the closest work. 
 
 Desiderius Erasmus, the most celebrated of the humanists north of the Alps, 
 
 87 
 
CATALOGUE OF DURER'S ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 and in certain ways a pioneer of the Reformation, was bom at Rotterdam about 
 the year 1467, and died at Basel on July 12, 1536. Durer met him and 
 drew his portrait several times in the Netherlands (1520-21 ; see one of these 
 drawings in Ephrussi, p. 277), and it was to him that he addressed in his Diary 
 the fervent words of entreaty to take up the work of Luther, upon the receipt of 
 the news that the latter had been kidnapped. The inscription on the print dis- 
 tinctly informs us that it was " drawn from the life by Albert Diirer." Never- 
 theless, it must have been engraved from the drawings made in the Netherlands 
 five years before, a fact which may in part explain the small satisfaction given by 
 this portrait to Erasmus himself as well as to others. " Technically, as an en- 
 graving," says Thausing (2d Germ, ed., II, p. 268), " the portrait of Erasmus, 
 'which his writings show better' [the words of the Greek phrase in the inscrip- 
 tion], is as superior to that of Melanchthon as it is inferior to it in truthfulness, 
 fidelity, and sentiment. Erasmus was polite enough, upon the receipt of the 
 picture, to excuse its shortcomings by remarking that he himself had changed in 
 the intervening five years." Kaufmann repeats Thausing's estimate, and adds 
 (" Diirer," p. 125, note i): " Luther, who did not belong to the admirers of 
 Erasmus, and did not know him personally, curiously enough referred to this 
 engraving, when he expatiated unfavorably on the character of Erasmus in his 
 after-dinner speeches." As his authority for this statement Kaufmann gives 
 " Deutsche Rundschau von Julius Rodenberg. Siebenter Jahrgang, 9 Heft. 
 Berlin, 1881. P. 467." Mr. Ruskin's opinion may be found in the "Ariadne 
 Florentina " (Lecture V). This portrait was possibly the last of Diirer's engrav- 
 ings on copper, the only other works of the kind, dated 1526, being the 
 Melanchthon, No. loi, and the Apostle Philip, No. 80 of this catalogue. 
 
 88 
 
THE GREAT COURIER. 
 (No. 103.) 
 
ENGRAVINGS 
 
 ATTRIBUTED TO DURER, EITHER DOUBTFUL OR 
 
 SPURIOUS. 
 
 103 THE GREAT COURIER.— B 8i; H 1098; R Appendix 5; 
 
 M, WHO ACCEPTS IT, 2. 
 
 a. Photogravure from the impression in Dresden. 
 
 b. Modern copy by A. Petrak. 
 
 There are only three impressions known, one in Paris, among the Diirers; a 
 second in the cabinet at Dresden, among the anonymous Germans of the 
 fifteenth century, and a third in the Hofbibhothek (Court Library) at Vienna. 
 Generally supposed, by those who accept it, to be one of Diirer's earliest plates. 
 Bartsch says of the cutting that it is " absolument le meme que celle du 
 violent," — " absolutely the same as that of the Ravisher," — and Harck follows 
 him in this. The writer last named is, indeed, led, by this assumed identity of 
 workmanship, to reject " The Ravisher " (see No. i of this catalogue). But 
 the photogravure here exhibited, from the impression in Dresden, shows that 
 such identity does not exist, and it shows also that Petrak's copy is far from 
 being reliable. 
 
 Called " The Great Courier," to distinguish it from " The Little Courier," 
 No. lo of this catalogue. 
 
 104 THE VIRGIN AT THE GATE.— B 45 ; H 2283 ; R Appen- 
 
 dix 2; M 108. — Monogram and date, 1520, on a tablet. 
 
 Very good impression. From the Artaria Collection. 
 
 The attempt to imitate in this print, not only Diirer's style, but also his tech- 
 nical methods, is evident. But, however " set " Diirer's handhng may be, it is 
 never as cold and mechanically perfect as here, nor is the effect ever as monoto- 
 nous, even in those plates in which there is a total absence of striving for 
 
 20 89 
 
ENGRAVINGS ATTRIBUTED TO DURER. 
 
 color. The impression in Paris shows on the left and on the right side that 
 there was an engraved frame around it, while other impressions show no frame. 
 In Berlin, there is also an impression without lines in the sky. 
 
 " This engraving," says Thausing (II, p. 78, note), "is a clumsy compilation of 
 fragments taken from various engravings and woodcuts of Diirer's, as has been 
 thoroughly and convincingly proved by Mr. G. W. Reid (' Fine Arts Quarterly,' 
 1866, N. S., I, 401). The figure of God the Father at the top is borrowed from 
 the woodcut, 'The Repose in Egypt,' B go; the groups of angels and the clouds 
 from 'The Assumption,' B 94; the buildings in the background on the right 
 and the doors from ' Christ's Farewell to His Mother,' B 92 ; the trunk of the 
 tree and the fence on the left from the same source ; and the large plants in 
 the right foreground from the engraving called ' The Promenade' [No. 12 of 
 this catalogue]." The figure of the Virgin herself, according to the same 
 author, is taken from the title-page of " The Apocalypse." The forger, again 
 according to Thausing, was Egidius Sadeler, while Passavant thinks it was 
 Marcantonio, which latter is very unlikely. 
 
 JOS THE TRINITY.— B 27; H 1651; R Appendix i; M 104.— 
 Monogram on a tablet. 
 
 Impression from the worn plate. 
 
 Bad, reduced, and reversed copy, probably by an Italian, of the woodcut B 122. 
 
 106 ST. JEROME IN PENANCE.— B 62 ; H 782 ; R Appendix 
 
 3; M 105. 
 Modern copy by A. Petrak. 
 
 The original, a niello, is rare. There are impressions in Paris and in the Kunst- 
 halle, in Bremen, and a spoiled impression, very closely cut, in the Collection 
 Frederic Augustus II, in Dresden. Altogether, it is stated, only five impres- 
 sions are known. Bartsch, Heller, and Passavant accept it, Hausmann doubt? 
 it. Retberg and Thausing think it is from a design by Diirer. 
 
 107 THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.— B 65 ; H 793 ; R Appen- 
 
 dix 4 ; M 106. 
 
 a. Facsimile in heliotype. 
 
 b. Modern copy by A. Petrak. 
 
 90 
 
ENGRAVINGS ATTRIBUTED TO DURER. 
 
 The original is a niello. Accepted by Bartsch, Heller, Passavant, and Haus- 
 mann. Rejected by Retberg and Thausing. The subject is also in doubt. 
 See Passavant, III, p. 153, who says that the only impression known is in the 
 Albertina, at Vienna. The heliotype here shown is, however, from Liibke's 
 work (see List of Books, etc., p. 100), the reproductions in which, according to 
 the statement on the title-page, were made from the originals in the Royal 
 Print Cabinet at Munich. 
 
 108 JOACHIM PATENIER.— B io8; H 2512; R Appendix 6; 
 M no. — Monogram; dated 1521. 
 
 Facsimile in photogravure. 
 
 There are original impressions in Paris and in Berlin, in both places with the 
 acknowledged works of Diirer, and also in London, but there marked " by C. 
 Cort." 
 
 This portrait is of especial interest, as it represents Joachim Patenier, or de 
 Patenier or Patinir (died 1524), "the good landscape-painter," as Durer calls 
 him, with whom he became quite intimate, and whose wedding he attended 
 during his sojourn in the Netherlands. He drew his likeness several times, and 
 although the original from which this engraving was done does not now seem 
 to be in existence, it is generally accepted as a fact that it is based upon a draw- 
 ing by Durer. Thausing attributes the plate to Egidius Sadeler, Passavant to 
 Cornelius Cort, on the authority of Van Mander. Patenier is called the father 
 of landscape art in the Netherlands, and according to Thausing (II, p. 202), 
 the term " landscape-painter," as applied to him by Diirer, here appears for the 
 first time in literature. 
 
 109 THE GREAT CRUCIFIXION IN OUTLINE.— P 109; H 
 2250; R 253; M 107. — Monogram in the first state. 
 
 Impression without the monogram, i. e., second state. Watermark 
 different from any of those given by Hausmann. From the Artaria 
 Collection. 
 
 London has both states, with and without the monogram. It does seem 
 as if on the impression of the second state traces of the monogram were still 
 visible below the skull. The impressions in Dresden and Berlin are without 
 
ENGRAVINGS ATTRIBUTED TO DURER. 
 
 the monogram. No mention is made of the monogram in connection with the 
 impression in Paris, in the notes on which these remarks are based. 
 
 Accepted by Retberg and Passavant; rejected by Heller and Thausing (II, 
 p. 266); unknown to Bartsch. Ephrussi (p. 318 etc.) argues in favor of 
 the genuineness of the engraving, because there are in existence quite a number 
 of sketches and studies by Diirer upon which it is based. Jaro Springer (" Jahr- 
 buch," VIII, p. 59), on the contrary, finds in this same fact conclusive evidence 
 against it, because Diirer habitually made detail studies for those of his engrav- 
 ings only, the subjects of which interested him theoretically — the horse, for in- 
 stance, in "The Knight, Death, and the Devil," the human body in "Adam and 
 Eve." Wessely ("Repert." VI, p. 57) quotes an entry in Paul Behaim's MS. cata- 
 logue of 1 618, in which the print is already spoken of not as by, but after Diirer. 
 
 no THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL— P no. 
 
 Not obtainable. 
 
 Passavant (III, p. 157) attempts to prove that this is one of Diirer's earhest en- 
 gravings, but it is generally rejected by other writers. There is an impression in 
 Dresden, — not, however, with the works of Diirer. A copy by Frenzel is declared 
 by Passavant to differ sufficiently from the original to be easily recognizable. 
 
 HI DAMIAO DE GOES. 
 
 Not obtainable. 
 
 Joaquim de Vasconcellos, who was the first to call attention to this engraving 
 as probably by Diirer, describes it at length on pp. 147-50 of his book 
 " Albrecht Durer e a sua influencia na peninsula," Porto, 1877, and he has 
 also published a photograph of it in " Damiao de Goes. O retrato de Albrecht 
 Diirer, com duas photographias," Porto, 1879. Only a small edition of the 
 book last named was printed, and it is already so rare that even the author 
 could not find a copy of it. According to Mr. de Vasconcellos the print itself 
 is likewise very rare. There is an impression in the National Library at 
 Lisbon, but when the writer of these notes was there in the year 1895, and 
 looked at some of the treasures of the library, he did not know of this print, 
 and therefore did not ask to see it. Ephrussi, however (pp. 328-31), un- 
 equivocally declares it to be unworthy of Diirer, and adds in a foot-note 
 (p. 330) : " La gravure figure dans le recueil iconographique de Philippe Gall : 
 Effigies CL virorum versibus Aria Moiitani ornafce." 
 
 92 
 
ENGRAVINGS ATTRIBUTED TO DURER. 
 
 n2 STUDIES FOR ADAM AND EVE. 
 
 Reproduction in photogravure. 
 
 This is the latest candidate for the honor of being admitted to a place among 
 the engraved works of Durer. The facsimile here shown, from the only known 
 impression (in the Bibliotheque Nationale, at Paris), was published by the Inter- 
 national Chalcographical Society in its series for 1886, No. 10. In the accom- 
 panying text it is ascribed to an "unknown German engraver, fifteenth cen- 
 tury," the style of whose work is said to have a certain affinity with that of Martin 
 Schongauer. Lehrs (" Repertorium," X, p. 102) ascribes it to an engraver known 
 only by his initials, P M, who was influenced by Schongauer, and belonged to the 
 school of the Lower Rhine. Anton Springer (" Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst," 
 October 1889, pp. 20-22) advances the idea that we have here the earliest 
 attempt at engraving by Durer, — a premonition of the "Adam and Eve" of 
 1504 (No. 34 of this catalogue), — and he supports his argument by pointing 
 out a resemblance of the Adam in these studies to the early portraits of 
 Diirer. Lehrs, in his turn, controverts this opinion (" Repertorium," XIII, pp. 40 
 and 41), but Springer adheres to it in his book on Diirer (p. 14). There is a 
 certain resemblance, as the comparison of the illustrations given by Springei: 
 will show, but the handling is altogether different from the admitted earliest 
 plates of Diirer, and too skilful to have preceded " The Ravisher " (No. i of 
 this catalogue). 
 
 93 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS^ 
 
 I. THE VENUS DE' MEDICI. Photograph.— Referred to under 
 Nos. 14 and 34. / 
 
 II. THE APOLLO BELVEDERE. Photograph.— Referred to 
 under No. 34. 
 
 III. THE CAPITOLINE VENUS. Photograph.— Referred to under 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 IV. VICTORY AND FAME. Facsimile of an engraving by Jacopo 
 
 de' Barbari, B 18, Kr 26.) PubHcations of the International 
 Chalcographical Society for 1896.) — Referred to under No. 14. 
 
 V. THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS. Facsimile of an engraving by 
 an unknown Italian of the fifteenth century. (Publications of 
 the International Chalcographical Society, Series for 1886, 
 No. 5.) — Referred to under No. 17. 
 
 VI. THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS. Facsimile of a drawing by 
 Diirer, dated 1494, in the Kunsthalle at Hamburg. (Lipp- 
 mann, No. 159.) — Referred to under No. 17. 
 
 VII. THE CAPTIVES. Reproduction of an engraving by Jacopo de' 
 Barbari, B 17, Kr 15. (From Ephrussi's " Notes biographiques.") 
 — Referred to under No. 19. 
 
 VIII. APOLLO AND DIANA. Reproduction of an engraving by 
 Jacopo de' Barbari, B 16, Kr 14. (From Ephrussi's "Notes 
 biographiques.") — Referred to under Nos. 34 and 36. 
 
 94 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 IX. APOLLO AND DIANA. Facsimile of a drawing by Diirer, in 
 the British Museum, London. (Lippmann, No. 233.) — Referred 
 to under Nos. 34 and 36. 
 
 X. ORPHEUS AND EUUYDICE. Etching, by Le Rat, from a 
 bas-relief attributed to Jacopo de' Barbari by Ephrussi. (From 
 Ephrussi's " Notes biographiques.") — Referred to under No. 
 34. 
 
 XI. ADAM AND EVE. Facsimile of a drawing by Durer, dated 
 1504, in the Von Lanna Collection, at Prague. (Lippmann, No. 
 173.) — Referred to under No. 34. 
 
 XII. BATTLE OF TRITONS. Engraving by Andrea Mantegna, 
 B 18. — Referred to under No. 41. 
 
 XIII. LO STREGOZZO. Engraving by Agostino Veneziano, B 426. 
 
 — Referred to under No. 41. 
 
 XIV. ANISQUAM. Original etching by Stephen Parrish. . 
 
 1. Clean wiped. 
 
 2. Clean wiped, with retroussage. 
 
 3. Rag wiped. 
 
 4. Rag wiped, with retroussage. 
 
 5. Rag wiped, with retroussage and a graded tint. 
 
 6. Rag wiped, with retroussage and a graded tint, and lights 
 
 wiped out in the distance. 
 
 7. Counterproof. 
 
 These seven impressions were all printed from the same plate, 
 without any change whatever in its state or condition. The ink 
 and the paper used are also precisely the same. The differences 
 in Nos. 1-6 are due entirely to the treatment which the plate 
 received at the hands of the printer, or, in other words, to the 
 wiping. No. 7, the counterproof, was produced in the usual 
 
 95 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 manner, that is to say, by laying down a fresh impression on a 
 clean sheet of paper, and then pulling the two through the press 
 together. These impressions were printed at the establishment 
 of Messrs. Kimmel & Voigt, of New York, to illustrate the art of 
 the printer, and they are here shown with reference to the remarks 
 on printing made in the Introduction, p. xli. 
 
 XV. PORTRAIT OF MURILLO BY HIMSELF. Etched by 
 Rajon. 
 
 1. Clean wiped. 
 
 2. With retroussage. 
 
 See the remarks under No. XIV. 
 
 96 
 
FINDING LIST 
 
 FOR THE CATALOGUES OF BARTSCH AND OF PASSAVANT. 
 
 In the first column the numbers of Bartsch and Passavant are given, 
 in the second those of this catalogue. 
 
 Bartsch's Catalogue. 
 
 1 . . . . 
 
 
 42 ... . 
 
 
 2 . . . . 
 
 
 43 ... . 
 
 .... 66 
 
 3-18 
 
 . . . 46-61 
 
 44 ... . 
 
 
 19 ... . 
 
 . ... 82 
 
 45 ... . 
 
 
 20 ... . 
 
 . . . . 18 
 
 46 ... . 
 
 .... 80 
 
 21 ... . 
 
 . ... 64 
 
 47 ... . 
 
 .... 79 
 
 22 ... . 
 
 . ... 81 
 
 48 ... . 
 
 .... 76 
 
 23 ... . 
 
 . ... 88 
 
 49 ... . 
 
 .... 78 
 
 24 ... . 
 
 . ... 45 
 
 50 ... . 
 
 .... 77 
 
 25 ... . 
 
 . ... 68 
 
 51 ... . 
 
 .... 96 
 
 26 ... . 
 
 . ... 83 
 
 52 ... . 
 
 .... 97 
 
 27 ... . 
 
 . ... 105 
 
 53 ... . 
 
 .... 43 
 
 28 ... . 
 
 . . . . 5 
 
 54 ... . 
 
 .... 42 
 
 29 ... . 
 
 . ... 25 
 
 55 ... . 
 
 .... 19 
 
 30 ... . 
 
 . . . . 8 
 
 56 ... . 
 
 
 31 ... . 
 
 . ... 44 
 
 57 ... . 
 
 .... 32 
 
 32 ... . 
 
 . ... 86 
 
 58 ... . 
 
 .... 91 
 
 33 ... . 
 
 . ... 74 
 
 59 ... . 
 
 .... 6s 
 
 34 ... . 
 
 . ... 29 
 
 60 ... . 
 
 .... 71 
 
 35 ... . 
 
 . ... 67 
 
 61 ... . 
 
 .... 6 
 
 36 ... . 
 
 . ... 90 
 
 62 ... . 
 
 
 37 ... . 
 
 . ... 94 
 
 63 ... . 
 
 .... 7 
 
 38 ... . 
 
 . ... 95 
 
 64 ... . 
 
 .... 62 
 
 39 ... . 
 
 . ... 87 
 
 65 ... . 
 
 
 40 ... . 
 
 • • • • 75 
 
 66 ... . 
 
 .... 40 
 
 41 ... . 
 
 • ... 63 
 
 67 ... . 
 
 .... 41 
 
 21 
 
 97 
 
FINDING LIST. 
 
 Q 
 
 . ... 35 
 
 QO 
 
 . ... 92 
 
 (iCk 
 
 • • • • 37 
 
 or\ 
 
 • • • • 73 
 
 TCi 
 
 . ... 85 
 
 -1 
 
 . . . . 72 
 
 T t 
 
 
 r> 
 
 
 T O 
 
 . ... 64. 
 
 n 
 
 . . . . 4 
 
 ^7 Q 
 
 . . . . 17 
 
 /< 
 
 
 T A 
 
 . ... 70 
 
 9o ... 
 
 
 T K 
 
 . . . . 14 
 
 
 . ... 38 
 
 7o . . . 
 
 . . . . 15 
 
 97 . . . 
 
 . ... 39 
 
 77 • • • 
 
 • • • • 33 
 
 98 ... 
 
 . ... 69 
 
 7o . . . 
 
 . . . . 9 
 
 
 . ... 89 
 
 79 . • • 
 
 
 ^ / \ / \ 
 
 . ... 31 
 
 80 . . . 
 
 
 101 ... 
 
 . ... 30 
 
 81 . . . 
 
 . ... 
 
 102 . . . 
 
 . ... 93 
 
 82 . . . 
 
 . ... 27 
 
 103 ... 
 
 . ... 98 
 
 
 . ... 23 
 
 104 ... 
 
 . ... 99 
 
 84 . . . 
 
 
 105 ... 
 
 
 85 ... 
 
 
 106 ... 
 
 
 86 . . . 
 
 . ... 24 
 
 107 ... 
 
 
 87 . . . 
 
 . ... 26 
 
 108 ... 
 
 . ... 108 
 
 88 . . . 
 
 . . . . 3 
 
 
 
 
 Passavant's Additions. 
 
 
 109 . . . 
 
 
 110 ... 
 
 
 98 
 
LIST OF BOOKS AND PAPERS CONSULTED. 
 
 ALLIHN, MAX. Diirer Studien. Versuch einer Erklarung schwer zu deuten- 
 der Kuperstiche A. Diirer's vom culturhistorischen Standpunkte. Leipsic : 
 1871. 
 
 ALLIHN, MAX. Diirer's " Vier Hexen." Eine Entgegnung. Kunstchronik, 
 VII, p. 185, etc. 
 
 ALVIN, L. Catalogue raisonne de I'oeuvre des trois freres Jean, Jerome, et 
 Antoine Wierix. Brussels : 1866. 
 
 BADER, F. W. Trachten-Bilder von Albrecht Diirer aus der Albertina. Sechs 
 Blatter in Farben-Holzschnitt ausgefiihrt von F. W. Bader. Vienna: 
 1871. [With a sheet of text by M. Thausing.] 
 
 BERGAU, R. Max AUihn, Diirerstudien. Kunstchronik, VII, p. 154, etc. 
 
 BOEHEIM, WENDELIN. Das Schwert Kaiser Maximilians I. in der K. K. 
 Ambraser-Sammlung und der " Degenknopf " Albrecht Durers. Repertorium 
 fiir Kunstwissenschaft, III, p. 276, etc. 
 
 COLVIN, SIDNEY. Albert Diirer, his teachers, his rivals, and his followers. 
 Portfolio, 1877 (Vol. VIII). 
 
 CORNILL, OTTO. Jacob Heller und Albrecht Durer. Frankfort: 1871. 
 
 CUST, LIONEL. The Engravings of Albert Diirer. London: 1894. [Port- 
 folio Monographs, No. 11.] 
 
 DE VASCONCELLOS, JOAQUIM. Albrecht Durer e a sua influencia na 
 peninsula. Porto: 1877. 
 
 DE VASCONCELLOS, JOAQUIM. Damiao de Goes. O retrato de 
 Albrecht Diirer, com duas photographias. Porto: 1879. [Not procurable, 
 and therefore only referred to.] 
 
 99 
 
LIST OF BOOKS AND 
 
 EPHRUSSI, CHARLES. Note sur la pretendue trilogie d' Albert Durer : Le 
 Chevalier, le Diable, et la Mort ; la Melancolie ; le Saint Jdrome dans sa 
 Cellule. Gazette des Beaux- Arts, 2^ per., Vol. XXIV, p. 266, etc. 
 
 EPHRUSSI, CHARLES. Notes biographiques sur Jacopo de' Barbari, dit le 
 maitre au caduc6e, peintregraveur v^nitien de la fin du XV« si^cle. Paris : 
 1876. 
 
 EPHRUSSI, CHARLES. Albert Diirer et ses dessins. Paris: 1882. 
 
 GRIMM, HERMANN. Bemerkungen iiber den Zusammenhang von Werken 
 A. Durer's mit der Antike. Jahrbuch der K. preuss. Kunstsammlungen, 
 II, p. 186, etc. 
 
 HARCK, FRITZ. Das Original von Diirers Postreiter. Ein Beitrag zu der 
 Frage nach dem Meister W. Innsbruck : 1880. 
 
 HARZEN, E. iiber die Erfindung der Aetzkunst. Naumann's Archiv fur die 
 zeichnenden Kiinste, V, 1859, pp. 119-36. 
 
 HAUSMANN, B. Albrecht Diirer's Kupferstiche, Radirungen, Holzschnitte 
 und Zeichnungen, unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der dazu verwandten 
 Papiere und deren Wasserzeichen. Hannover: 1861. 
 
 HELLER, JOSEPH. Das Leben und die Werke Albrecht Diirer's. Vol. II 
 (the only one published). Leipsic: 1831. 
 
 KAUFMANN, L. Albrecht Diirer. Zweite verbesserte Auflage. Freiburg im 
 Breisgau: 1887. 
 
 KRISTELLER, PAUL. Engravings and woodcuts by Jacopo de' Barbari, 
 [Berlin, etc. Publication of the International Chalcographical Society for 
 1896.] 
 
 LANGE UND FUHSE. Durers Schriftlicher Nachlass auf Grund der Original- 
 handschriften und theilweise neu entdeckter alter Abschriften. Halle: 1893. 
 
 LEHRS, MAX. Zu Durer's Studium nach der Antike. Mittheil. des Instituts 
 fiir Oester. Geschichtsforschung. 1880-84, PP- 283-86. 
 
 LEHRS, MAX. Die erste Jahrespublication der Internationalen Chalkograph- 
 ischen Gesellschaft. Repertorium fiir Kunstwissenschaft, X, 1887 (see 
 p. 102). 
 
 100 
 
PAPERS CONSULTED. 
 
 LEHRS, MAX. Der deutsche und niederlandische Kupferstich des funfzehnten 
 Jahrhunderts in den kleineren Sammlungen. Repertorium fiir Kunstwissen- 
 schaft, XIII, 1890 (see pp. 40, 41). 
 
 LEHRS, MAX. Wenzel von Olmutz. Dresden : 1889. 
 
 LEITSCHUH, FRIEDRICH. Albrecht Diirer's Tagebuch der Reise in die 
 Niederlande. Erste vollstandige Ausgabe nach der Handschrift Johann 
 Hauer's, mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen. Leipsic: 1884. 
 
 LIPPMANN, FRIEDRICH. Zeichnungen von Albrecht Diirer in Nachbil- 
 dungen. Berlin: 1883 (Vol. I), 1888 (Vol. II), 1894 (Vol. III).— A fourth 
 volume has just been issued, but it was received too late for use in the 
 compilation of this catalogue. 
 
 LIPPMANN, FRIEDRICH. Der Kupferstich. Berlin: 1893. [Handbucher 
 der Koniglichen Museen zu Berlin.] 
 
 LiiBKE, WILHELM. Albrecht Durer's sammtliche Kupferstiche. Mit Text. 
 Nach den besten Originalen des Konigl. Kupferstichcabinets in Miinchen, 
 durch unveranderlichen Lichtdruck in Originalgrosse reproducirt von J. B. 
 Obernetter. Nuremberg: [1876.] 
 
 MERLO, JOH. JACOB. Nachrichten von dem Leben und den Werken Koln- 
 ischer Kiinstler. Koln : 1850. 
 
 MIDDLETON-WAKE, CHARLES H. Catalogue of the engraved work of 
 Albert Diirer. The prints arranged in the order of their execution. [Cam- 
 bridge, England:] 1893. 
 
 NAGLER, G. K. Kiinstler-Lexicon. 22 vols. Munich: 1835-52. 
 
 NAGLER, G. K. Die Monogrammisten. 5 vols. Munich and Leipsic: [n. d.]. 
 
 PASSAVANT, J. D. Albert Durer. In " Le Peintre-Graveur," Vol. HI. 
 Leipsic: 1862. 
 
 ROSENBERG, ADOLF. Durerstudien. Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst, VIII, 
 p. 284, etc. ; p. 350, etc; IX, p. 254, etc. 
 
 RUSKIN, JOHN. " Durer and Salvator." In " Modem Painters," Part IX, 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 RUSKIN, JOHN. Ariadne Florentina. References to Diirer in Lectures IV 
 and V, and Appendix, Article II, Detached Notes ii and iii. 
 
LIST OF BOOKS AND 
 
 SCHMIDT, WILHELM. Wenzeslaus de Olomucz. Kunstchronik, XXII, p. 193, 
 etc. 
 
 SCOTT, VVM. B. The earliest etching. The Academy, 1874, p. 402. 
 
 SPRINGER, ANTON. Meister W. Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst, XII (1887), 
 pp. 1-8 and 38-42. 
 
 SPRINGER, ANTON. Der alteste Kupferstich Diirers. Zeitschrift fur bildende 
 Kunst, New Series, I, pp. 20-22. (October, 1889.) 
 
 SPRINGER, ANTON. Albrecht Durer. Berlin: 1892. 
 
 SPRINGER, JARO. Diirer und der Umrissstich " Die Kreuzigung." Jahrbuch 
 der K. preuss. Kunstsammlungen, VIII, p. 56, etc. 
 
 THAUSING, MORIZ. Diirer's Briefe, Tagebiicher und Reime, nebst einem 
 Anhange von Zuschriften an und fur Diirer, iibersetzt und mit Einleitung, An- 
 merkungen, Personenverzeichniss und einer Reisekarte versehen, Vienna : 
 1872. 
 
 THAUSING, MORIZ. Albert Durer, His Life and Works, translated from the 
 German. Edited by Fred. A. Eaton. 2 vols. London: 1882. (This trans- 
 lation is from the first German edition.) 
 
 THAUSING, MORIZ. Durer, Geschichte seines Lebens und seiner Kunst. 
 Zweite verbesserte Auflage. 2 vols. Leipsic : 1884. 
 
 THODE, HENRY. Die Antiken in den Stichen Marcanton's, Agostino Vene- 
 ziano's und Marco Dente's. Leipsic: 1881. 
 
 THODE, HENRY. Durer's " Antikische Art." Jahrbuch der K. preuss. Kunst- 
 sammlungen, III, p. 106, etc. 
 
 VASARI, GIORGIO. References to Diirer in " Marcantonio and Other En- 
 gravers of Prints." Mrs. Jonathan Foster's translation of the " Lives," vol. 
 Ill, p. 485, etc. London : 1865. (Bohn's Standard Library.) 
 
 [VON] BARTSCH, ADAM. Le Peintre-Graveur, more especially "Albert Du- 
 rer" in Vol. VII. Vienna: 1808. 
 
 VON EYE, A. Leben und Wirken Albrecht Diirer's. 2d ed. Nordlingen: 
 1869. 
 
 VON RETBERG, R. Diirer's Kupfersriche und Holzschnitte. Ein kritisches 
 Verzeichniss. Munich: 1871. 
 
 102 
 
PAPERS CONSULTED. 
 
 VON SALLET, ALFRED. Untersuchungen uber Albrecht Durer. Berlin: 
 1874. 
 
 VON SEIDLITZ, W. Ein neues Selbstbildnis Durers. Jahrbuch der K. preuss. 
 Kunstsammlungen, XV, p. 23, etc. 
 
 VON ZAHN, ALBERT. Durer's Kunstlehre und sein Verhaltniss zur Renais- 
 sance. Leipsic: 1866. 
 
 WESSELY, J. E. Das Manuscript von Paul Behaim's Kupferstichkatalog im 
 Berliner Museum. Repertorium fur Kunstwissenschaft, VI, p. 54, etc. 
 
 YRIARTE, CHARLES. Autour des Borgia. Paris: 189 1. 
 
GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 
 
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