Description:Created in c.1510, this piece is one of thirty six images Dürer created to illustrate a volume entitled The Small Passion. This work is an artist’s proof impression prior to the book edition of 1511 and features the artist’s monogrammed initials on the woodblock in the lower center.
Exhibiting the artist’s mastery and skill in technique of the studied figure, this work is an intimate look at one of the pinnacle scenes in the Passion of the Christ. Walter L. Strauss quotes directly from the bible, a passage which Dürer has been able to illustrate with incredible detail and emotion:
And when the day of Pentecost [the seventh Sunday or fiftieth day after Easter] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a might rushing wind, and it fulled all the houses where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (Acts 2:1-3)
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).
1. Barlow, T.D. Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer, Penguin Books: London, 1948. Listed and illustrated as plate 79.
2. Boon, Karel G. and Robert W. Scheller. The Graphic Art of Albrecht Dürer, An Illustrated Catalogue, Vangendt & Co.: Amsterdam, 1971. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 160 on pg. 132.
3. Kupfertiche, Eisenradierungen und Kaltnadelblatter, Albrecht Dürer Das Druckgraphische Werk, Vol. II, Prestel Verlag: Munich, 2001. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 221 on pgs. 342-3.
4. Kurth, Dr. Willi. The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer, Dover Publications: New York, 1963. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 257 and discussed on pg. 30.
5. Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog, Verlag Gilhofer & Ranschburg: Wien, 1932. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 160 on pgs. 149-50.
6. Pawlak, Manfred. Albrecht Dürer 1471 bis 1528, Herrshing. Listed and illustrated as plate 1627.
7. Strauss, Walter L. Albrecht Dürer Woodcuts and Woodblocks, Abaris Books, Inc.: New York, 1980. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 135 on pgs. 400-1.
About the Framing:
Conservation framed with museum quality, archival materials, this work is float-mounted on linen in an ornate black and gold leaf frame. The finely carved vegetal details of the Spanish-style moulding compliment linear elements in this work. The bright gold reflection of light in the frame and the deep shadows created by the sculptural relief, accentuate the contrast in this work. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover.
