The Coronation of the Virgin 1510

Albrecht Durer made this print, "The Coronation of the Virgin," using a metal plate, likely copper, sometime before 1511. Dürer would have used a tool called a burin to carve lines into the plate, creating an image in reverse. The density of these etched lines profoundly influences the artwork's appearance, with their fineness and closeness determining the tones and textures we see. Consider the way Dürer describes the heavy drapes of the figures clothing, or the lightness of the clouds. The process demands incredible skill and precision, and a fair amount of labor. Prints like this one were relatively affordable at the time, making art accessible to a wider audience, and democratizing images for a culture that, until this point, was only accessible by painting and illuminated manuscripts. Paying attention to the material and the means of production allows us to see the social role of this image, and how Dürer's genius both relied upon and pushed the possibilities of printmaking.