Cleveland Museum of Art

The Life of the Virgin

Albrecht Dürer

Date

c. 1510–11

Medium

woodcut

Culture

Germany, early 16th Century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The frontispiece of the series is a modification of the devotional imagery Dürer used in his depictions of the Virgin and Child standing in a crescent moon. Here, he also incorporated the themes of the nursing Madonna and the Madonna of Humility, often shown seated. In doing so, Dürer fused the Virgin’s regal, motherly, and humble natures into one striking image. Dürer's cycle depicting Mary's life, which gained instant acclaim, was remarkable not only for its theological accuracy but also for its unprecedented wealth of detail.

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