Art Institute of Chicago

The Temptation of the Idler (The Dream of the Doctor)

Albrecht Dürer

Date

c. 1498

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The German proverb “Idleness is the Devil’s pillow” is the subject of this print. While the doctor is asleep at the stove, the devil blows wicked ideas in his ear, which take the form of a naked woman. Born in Nuremberg, the print center of Europe, Albrecht Dürer sought out the work of master engravers to deepen his knowledge, including Martin Schongauer and the Master of the Housebook, whose prints are displayed nearby ( 1938.1825 and 1958.299 ). In this work, Dürer surpasses his predecessors in his acute ability to render distinct surface textures of wood, cloth, and flesh. The off-axis contrapposto position of the nude echoes the Italianate figures Dürer studied in his 1494 trip to Venice.

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