Cleveland Museum of Art

The Betrothal of the Virgin

Albrecht Dürer

Date

c. 1504–1505

Medium

woodcut

Culture

Germany, early 16th Century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Dürer devoted three woodcuts (1959.99.5-7) to the significant events in Mary’s youth prior to her sacred calling. His depiction of her birth recalls a contemporary birthing scene, complete with midwives, female friends, and relatives. Anna rests from her efforts in the background while an attendant bathes the infant Mary in the immediate right foreground. The religious significance of the event is made known by the presence of an angel above. In the subsequent prints Mary is presented several years later at the temple (running up the stairs), followed by her betrothal to an older widowed man named Joseph.

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