According to W. Strauss (1980), the composition is as follows: “The Virgin holds the Infant Christ who looks at the Gospel shown to him by an angel, while a second angel plays the harp. The other participants in this crowded scene are (from left to right): St. Jerome, beckoning his lion who is partly hidden by the column; St. Paul, carrying his sword, as the Defender of the Faith; St. Augustine, wearing a mitre, as Bishop of Hippo; St. Anthony, carrying his pilgrim’s staff, surmounted by a cross and a bell; John the Baptist, holding the lamb; St. Joseph, hat in hand, looking old in order to stress the Virginity; and in the foreground with St. Catherine, the spiked wheel of her martyrdom and a vase with lilies of the valley – symbolizing purity – beside her. The pot next to the Virgin holds peonies, which were considered to have special protective powers, and equated in beauty with lilies and roses” (p. 240).

Created in c. 1502, this woodcut is monogrammed ‘AD’ in the lower center of the image. This work is a Meder d of (f) impression after the Latin text edition of 1511, printed on a fine laid paper with Eagle with Flower watermark (M 222, BR 262-263) dating this work to c. late 1500s.

PROVENANCE:
1. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

2. Collector’s stamp (not in Lugt) on verso: John S. Phillips (1810-1876) Collection, P.A.F.A. (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts)

CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ & COA:
Albrecht Dürer Glorification of the Virgin (The Life of the Virgin), c. 1502 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoice accompanying the final sale of the work):

1. Bartsch. The Illustrated Bartsch Vol. 10. Edited by Walter L. Strauss. New York: Abaris Books, 1981. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonnè no. 95.

2. Kurth, W. Dr. The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1963. Listed and illustrated as catalogue no raisonne no. 191.

3. Meder, J. Dürer-Katalog. Wien: Verlag Gilhoffer & Ranschburg, 1932. Listed as catalogue raisonné no. 207.

4. Pawlak, M. Albrecht Dürer: 1471 bis 1528, Das gesamte Graphische Werk, Druckgraphik, Band II. München, Verlag Rogner & Bernhard GMBH. Listed and illustrated as plate no. 1588.

5. Scheller, R. W. and Boon, K. G. The Graphic Art of Albrecht Dürer, Hans Dürer and the Dürer School. Amsterdam: Vengendt & Co, 1971. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 207.

6. Schoch, R. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk, Band II Holzschnitte und Holzschnittfolgen. München: Prestel Verlag, 2002. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 185.

7. Strauss, W. L. Albrecht Dürer, Woodcuts and Wood Blocks. New York: Abaris Books, 1980. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 70. Eagle with Flower watermark listed and illustrated as M.222, Br. 262-263 on page 703.

8. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

ABOUT THE FRAMING:
Albrecht Dürer Glorification of the Virgin (The Life of the Virgin), c. 1502 is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and finished with linen-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.