Art Institute of Chicago

Knight, Death, and the Devil

Albrecht Dürer

Date

1513

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Albrecht Dürer’s masterful engraving encourages the viewer to reflect on the inevitability of their mortality. Lurking behind the knight on his muscular warhorse, the skeletal, deteriorating figure of Death sits astride his aging steed and demonstrates the running hourglass of Time. The juxtaposition of the knight and Death suggests the knight’s impending demise. Despite this Christian soldier’s battle-ready appearance, no amount of armor can protect him (and, by proxy, the rest of humanity) from death, though he shows no outward signs of fear or of temptation by the devil, who follows closely behind.

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