The coat of arms with the skull

Details

Bartsch 101; Meder 98 I a (von II d); Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum 37 I a (von II d).

Ausstellung:
Mémoires du futur, la collection Olbricht; Maison Rouge-Fondation Antoine de Galbert, Paris, Frankreich, 22. Oktober 2011 bis 15. Januar 2012.

Provenienz:
Dr. Edgar Paltzer (1910-1993) und Elisabeth Charlotte Paltzer (1916-1990), Basel und New York, verso mit dem Stempel (Lugt 4262);
Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Lagerkatalog 2003. Die Geschichte der Grafik von 1430 bis 1990 in ausgewählten Werken, 23. September bis 29. November 2003, Los 18.

Description

Brilliant, deep black and high-contrast early impression with rich burr effect. Before the strong glitter next to the coat of arms and with the early watermark desired for lifetime impressions. Trimmed to the borderlines, with a fine margin at the top.
Due to its decorative richness, exciting composition and engraving brilliance, the sheet is one of Dürer’s main graphic sheets. It shows a young Nuremberg patrician woman in a dancing dress and wearing a bridal crown, beset by a shaggy-haired, wild man who seems to have forgotten his task as the holder of a coat of arms for the moment. In view of the magnificent helmet, whose straps she holds firmly in her grip, she puts up with his intrusiveness: Her gaze rests pleasingly on the suitor’s coat of arms, the front of which with the skull remains hidden from her. Various motifs, such as the mismatched couple, death and the girl and the futility of human status symbols, merge in the depiction to create an impressive memento mori. – A few inconspicuous stains, a carefully repaired tiny loss at the upper right edge, otherwise in very good condition.
Rarely so beautiful!