drawing, print, woodcut
drawing
narrative-art
landscape
figuration
woodcut
line
pen work
history-painting
northern-renaissance
Dimensions: 15 1/4 × 11 1/16 in. (38.74 × 28.1 cm) (sheet)
Copyright: Public Domain
Albrecht Dürer made this engraving, Knight on Horseback and the Lansquenet, on paper in Germany, sometime around 1500. Here we see a knight accompanied by an armed foot soldier. The knight appears to be in some distress while the foot soldier seems to be advancing. What story could this image be telling us? Dürer was working during the period of the Holy Roman Empire, a time of great social and political change. His images often reflect the anxieties and tensions of the age. We see in this work the rise of the Landsknecht, German mercenary soldiers who became a powerful military force. These foot soldiers challenged the dominance of the traditional knightly class. Was Dürer commenting on the changing social order of the time? Was he celebrating or critiquing the rise of this new military power? These are questions that we, as art historians, can explore through further research into the social and institutional history of the period.
Comments
Albrecht Dürer was the leading artist of the German renaissance. Already in the 1490s, while he was in his twenties, he single-handedly elevated the craft of woodcut to a fine art. This vigorous, charming woodcut image of a knight on horseback and a foot soldier belongs to this phase of his career. The unbelievably intricate network of lines presents form, light, and space with a lithe sense of movement equal to the highest achievements of the draftsman’s art. The image seems intentionally open-ended; it has never been convincingly linked to any text or legend. Rather it conjures up colorful figures that one might have encountered on a road beyond the protective walls of a city. The horse leaps forward with both forelegs well off the ground. It clenches the bit and has a fiery expression. The equally intent rider urges on his companion with a wave of his arm. They traverse a winding road in a river valley dotted with fortified towns, monasteries, or castles. Nature and civilization are in balance. It is autumn: the leftmost is heavy with fruit, and some of the others have already lost their leaves. The hurried travelers pass us by, but we will remain to enjoy the lovely view. This is an early impression, printed on paper bearing the Imperial Orb watermark, frequently used by Dürer in the 1490s.
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
CollectMore like this
