The Knight, Death and the Devil
Albrecht Dürer
European Art
In Knight, Death, and the Devil Albrecht Dürer imagined an armored rider encountering two gruesome apparitions: a putrefying figure of Death brandishing an hourglass as a reminder of life’s brevity and a horned and snouted Devil. Like Melencolia I, this is an ambiguous image that has inspired several interpretations. Most frequently, the main figure is described as a heroic Christian knight, an embodiment of moral virtue, who has no fear of Death or the Devil. However, a contradictory reading suggests that the knight may have been understood in Dürer’s time as one of the many so-called robber-knights who terrorized the burghers and merchants of Nuremberg and other cities. In this interpretation the Knight is not afraid of the two fearsome entities because he is actually in league with them. There are no obvious Christian symbols in the image, but other emblems suggest duplicity, such as the foxtail attached to the end of the knight’s lance. Foxes were symbols of trickery, and “foxtail bearer” was a term for a hypocrite.
Although Dürer made each of the three master engravings on view here as an independent work, scholars have wondered if they are somehow thematically linked. It has been suggested that they might represent different modes of virtue or faith in medieval and Renaissance eras—contemplative in Saint Jerome, militant in Knight, Death, and the Devil, and artistic in Melencolia I.
Although Dürer made each of the three master engravings on view here as an independent work, scholars have wondered if they are somehow thematically linked. It has been suggested that they might represent different modes of virtue or faith in medieval and Renaissance eras—contemplative in Saint Jerome, militant in Knight, Death, and the Devil, and artistic in Melencolia I.
MEDIUM
Engraving on laid paper
DATES
1513
DIMENSIONS
Image: 9 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (24.5 x 19 cm)
Sheet: 10 x 7 7/8 in. (25.5 x 20 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed with monogram in plate
COLLECTIONS
European Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
54.35.6
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). The Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513. Engraving on laid paper, Image: 9 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (24.5 x 19 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, 54.35.6 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.35.6_acetate_bw.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 54.35.6_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement.
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act.
The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals.
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
