Minneapolis Institute of Art
Three Men in Conversation
Albrecht DürerLinkedCulture matchlcp-840f7214ff34
- Date
- 1497–98
- Medium
- Engraving
- Department
- European Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 67016
From LinkedCulture
In 1497, Albrecht Dürer engraved three men who seem to have stolen each other's identities. The figure on the left grips a sword he cannot even keep in its sheath, a noble's weapon made ridiculous. At the center stands a man in German peasant clothes topped with a turban, and on the right, a basket of eggs carried by someone wearing knightly spurs. This small print captures an entire society's dread of disorder as the year 1500 and its feared apocalypse drew near.
Written by LinkedCulture for its video on this object. Machine-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6), not yet reviewed by a person. It is not part of the museum’s record.
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
Whether or not this engraving refers to contemporary peasant uprisings, as some suggest, Albrecht Dürer treats us to a little absurdity. The man on the left has a sword, prerogative of the nobility but cannot even maintain its sheath. The center man is dressed as an ordinary German peasant but has the beard an turban of a Turk. The assertive man on the right carries a basket of eggs, but his spurs suggest that he may be a knight. This may be a microcosm of the “the world turned upside down, ” a notion stemming from the same strain of thought that bought fear of witches and an impending apocalypse as the year 1500 loomed closer. Germany, Europe
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- The William Hood Dunwoody Fund, 1947
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