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Albrecht Dürer, printmaker

The Large Horse, 1505

Description

Maker

  • After Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528, German

Title

The Large Horse

Year

1505

Medium

Engraving on laid paper, trimmed along platemark

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • engraving

Supports

  • Light weight laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 16.6 x 11.8 cm (6 9/16 x 4 5/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Lettered within image, UC: "1505"; and LR: "AD"

Verso: collector's mark of Karl Eduard von Liphart, Bonn and Florence (1808-1891; Lugt 1687); collector's mark of Franz von Hagens, Dresden (1817-1899; Lugt 1052a)

Inscribed in graphite, centre: "Paris 1775 Mariette"; and LL: "P13278"

Identification

State

Only state

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

30.025

Projects & Publications

Publications

The Brilliant Line

Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Read Online

Dürer-Katalog

Ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line

September 18, 2009 - January 3, 2010

This print demonstrates Dürer’s mature graphic system, in which he responded to the precision and clarity of engraving, describing both texture and space by varying the direction, density, and arrangement of lines in controlled sections. Short flicks mediate the transitions from highlighted areas to tonal areas, while the darkest shadows are achieved by short lines laid between two longer ones. Elegant s-curves travel across forms to create volume. These uniformly sized sheets were called “half-sheets” and were the most frequent of Dürer’s formats. Such prints offered an atlas for the application of Dürer’s tonal system as they traveled to other practitioners in France, Italy, Spain, and even the New World.

Designed as a companion print to his Small Horse (inv. #30.026), these prints are visual essays on the ideal and naturalistic qualities of the horse. The small horse is presented in profile and perfectly proportioned in a posture related to ancient equestrian statues. The large horse is shown in a unique stance, its hind legs raised, in order to accentuate its muscularity and physical presence.

From Dürer to Van Gogh

June 5 - October 26, 2008

This engraving accentuates the muscularity and physical presence of the animal through the unusual angle and the raising of its hind legs on a step. During the Renaissance, a horse could symbolize both virility and violence; along with these ideal associations, however, Dürer was interested in displaying the natural qualities of the horse’s muscles and hair.

Helen M. Danforth

June 21 - September 8, 1985

Prints and Drawings with a Classical Reference

December 15, 1965 - January 9, 1966

German Renaissance Graphics from the Museum's Collection

November 28, 1961 - January 7, 1962

German Etchings and Engravings

April 30 - June 9, 1953

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Large Horse with the accession number of 30.025. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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