Art Institute of Chicago

Madonna Queen of Angels

Albrecht Dürer

Date

1518

Medium

Woodcut in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In Albrecht Dürer’s richly symbolic and densely patterned woodcut, two angels hover above the Madonna and Child, preparing to crown their queen. Others celebrate the coronation by playing musical instruments. A seated cherub offers the Madonna potted lilies, a sign of her purity, while a standing angel presents grapes, a symbol of the Eucharist and Christ’s bloodshed. Like Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Eve from The Fall of Man (1962.113), Dürer’s Madonna takes center stage amongst the throng of angels and proffers her own fruit. This detail connects the Madonna, who brings eternal life through her son, Jesus, with Eve, who brings death into the world through original sin.

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