File:Dürer Melancholia I.jpg

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Summary

Artist



Alternative names	Albrecht Dürer
Description	German painter, printmaker, engraver and mathematician
Date of birth/death	21 May 1471	6 April 1528
Location of birth/death	Nuremberg	Nuremberg
Work location	Nuremberg (1484–1490), Basel (1490–1494), Strasbourg (1490–1494), Colmar (1490–1494), Frankfurt am Main (1490–1494), Mainz (1490–1494), Cologne (1490–1494), Nuremberg (21 May 1494–1528), Innsbruck (1494), Venice (1494–1495), 1505–1506), Bologna (1505–1506), Milan (1505–1506), Florence (1505–1506), Rome (1505–1506), Augsburg (1518)
Authority control	WorldCat

Date

1514

Medium

copper plate

Current location

Städel

	Native name	Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie
	Location	Frankfurt am Main
	Coordinates	50° 6′ 10.00″ N, 8° 40′ 26.00″ E
	Established	1816
	Website	http://www.staedelmuseum.de/

Notes

Melancholia I The bat-like creature flying through a night sky declares the subject of this famous engraving: Melancolia I. That dark temperament is personified by a female figure seated in the foreground. The winged infant beside her is a 'genius' (in the ancient sense, meaning an accompanying spirit).

Melancholy has wings and from her belt hang keys and a money bag, symbolizing power and wealth. She is surrounded by measuring instruments. Above her head is a panel of 'magic' numbers (they add up to 34 in all directions). At her feet are the tools that can fashion the material world. Yet she does nothing: lost in thought, she turns away from the light.

Renaissance philosophers had suggested a new interpretation for melancholy, as the temperament of genius (in the modern sense). Melancholy was possessed by artists, in whom 'Imagination' predominates; 'Reason' dominates scholars; while the final stage of 'Spirit' was the preserve of theologians. If this interpretation is correct, Dürer has presented us with a portrait of his own temperament as an artist.

Source/Photographer

Licensing

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:

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The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain, and that claims to the contrary represent an assault on the very concept of a public domain". For details, see Commons:When to use the PD-Art tag.
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File usage

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Metadata

This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file.

Image title	Melencolia I (B. 74; M., HOLL. 75) engraving 24 x 18.8 cm 1514
Copyright holder	http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/modern-contemporary-prints-l11161/lot.13.lotnum.html
Author	Albrecht Dürer
Orientation	Normal
Horizontal resolution	424 dpi
Vertical resolution	424 dpi
Software used	GIMP 2.6.12
File change date and time	12:51, 6 October 2012
Colour space	Uncalibrated
Image height	3,146 px
Image width	4,000 px
Date and time of digitizing	18:07, 22 March 2012
Date metadata was last modified	14:50, 6 October 2012
Short title	Melencolia I

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