Albrecht Dürer, 
German 1471-1528- 

The Virgin with the Swaddled Child (1520); 

engraving on laid paper, signed with monogram and dated '1520 / AD' (lower left, within the plate), bears numbers '18' and '12' (upper mount), the plate 14.1 x 9.5 cm. 

Provenance: 
Private Collection, UK. 

Literature: 
A. von Bartsch, Le Peintre Graveur, Vienna, vol. VII, 1808, no.38. 
J. Meder, Dürer-Katalog, Vienna, 1932, no.40. 

Note: 
Nuremberg-born draughtsman, painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer is widely recognised as one of the most iconic and influential artists of the Northern Renaissance. The artist’s printed oeuvre in particular was vital in disseminating his compositions across Europe, quickly gaining him international renown. 

Before becoming an apprentice in the workshop of Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519), Dürer spent his early years working alongside his father, who was a successful goldsmith in Nuremberg. The impact of the artist’s early training as a goldsmith is still discernible even in his later compositions, such as the engraving presented here, which showcases Dürer’s characteristically delicate and refined linework. The present composition, which shows a classicised central figure seated within a hilly coastal landscape, also shows the profound influence of Italian and particularly Venetian painters, whom Dürer met on his journeys to Italy in 1494-95 and 1505-1507. 

Impressions of the present engraving are held at the British Museum (1868,0822.174) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (19.73.45). Another sold recently at Christie’s, London, 9 December 2021, lot 21 (£13,125).