Melencolia I

We will probably never know the true meaning of Dürer’s Melencolia I. The main figure and the instruments, animals, inscriptions and celestial phenomena surrounding her have been interpreted in very different ways: it has been seen as a work of consolation, warning, virtue and contemplation. Together with the works Knight, Death and the Devil and Saint Jerome in his Study, Melencolia I is one of Dürer’s three so-called ‘Meisterstiche’ (masterpieces of engravings), which identify the Nuremberg-based artist not only as an outstanding copper engraver, but also an educated artist, who was introduced into the circle around Willibald Pirckheimer, the famous humanist and counsellor of Kaiser Maximilian I. The masterpieces of engravings were made before Dürer’s voyage to Italy. (Sonja Brink)