Knight, Death, and the Devil
Albrecht Dürer · 1513 · Art Institute of Chicago
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From the museum
Albrecht Dürer’s masterful engraving encourages the viewer to reflect on the inevitability of their mortality. Lurking behind the knight on his muscular warhorse, the skeletal, deteriorating figure of Death sits astride his aging steed and demonstrates the running hourglass of Time. The juxtaposition of the knight and Death suggests the knight’s impending demise. Despite this Christian soldier’s battle-ready appearance, no amount of armor can protect him (and, by proxy, the rest of humanity) from death, though he shows no outward signs of fear or of temptation by the devil, who follows closely behind.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471-1528
- Date
- 1513
- Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Image/plate: 24.5 × 19 cm (9 11/16 × 7 1/2 in.); Sheet: 25.3 × 19.7 cm (10 × 7 13/16 in.)
- Place of origin
- Germany
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · Not on view
- Credit line
- Robert Alexander Waller Memorial Fund
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
