PrintsGerman16th century

Christ in Limbo

1512/hand-colored circa 1588

Artists

Albrecht DürerArtist

Georg Mack the ElderArtist

Description

The engraving was hand-colored by Georg Mack the Elder circa 1588 (initialed "GM" in gold). The recto border of the vellum mount is decorated with a scroll of flowers, four birds and a tortoise. The verso has a German manuscript text in brown ink and gold relating to the Entombment of Christ, and the border is decorated with a scroll of red lilies, a caterpillar, a butterfly, other insects and a duck.

Classification

Prints

Technique

Engraving

Medium

Engraving, hand-colored with watercolor, opaque watercolor, and gold on cream antique laid paper, adhered to a decorated vellum mount; verso of mount: decorated border, with German manuscript text in brown ink and gold

Culture

German

Century

16th century

Division

European and American Art

Department

Department of Prints

Dimensions

print: 11.7 x 7.4 cm (4 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.) parchment sheet: 17.5 x 12.9 cm (6 7/8 x 5 1/16 in.)

Provenance

[Helmut H. Rumbler Kunsthandlung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, by 1989] to; Samuel Josefowitz Collection, London, 1989, sold; [Christie's, New York, "Albrecht Dürer Masterpieces from a Private Collection," 29 January 2013, lot 41] to; [C.G. Boerner LLC, New York] to; Harvard Art Museums, Fogg Museum, 2013.