Germany / 1514
Melencolia I
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Melencolia I as print (Germany · 1514).
A crowning achievement of Albrecht Dürer’s engraved works, Melencolia I captivates the viewer with abundant variety. Melancholy, or sadness, was associated with introspective, creative minds, and here, Dürer personified it as an immobilized, winged figure, unable to use the tools scattered around her.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this print as engraving and credits Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528).
The museum's collection notes: A crowning achievement of Albrecht Dürer’s engraved works, Melencolia I captivates the viewer with abundant variety. Melancholy, or sadness, was associated with introspective, creative minds, and here, Dürer personified it as an immobilized, winged figure, unable to use the tools scattered around her. A magic square whose numbers total 34 in all directions, an emaciated dog, an hourglass, and a ladder evoke time, order, suffering, life, and death. Despite its implication of inner turmoil, the engraving demonstrates Dürer’s expertise in capturing visual perception. Light behaves differently against a transparent hourglass, a bursting comet, a
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtMelencolia IOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.