Affiches Mary Among a Multitude of Animals by Durer

Mary Among a Multitude of Animals by Albrecht Durer, c. 1503, is a complex pen and ink drawing with watercolor washes of the Virgin with Christ child sitting in a vast landscape among many animals. The classical drawing of figures and vivid, naturalistic detail of dog, fox, parrot, owl, sheep and a multitude of other creatures in the landscape create a lively, memorable Renaissance drawing. The drawing appears to be a preparatory study for transfer to a painting. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was a German painter of the Northern Renaissance whose work as an engraver, printmaker, mathematician and theorist secured his reputation as one of the greatest artists of Europe. His many paintings, portraits, altarpieces, watercolors, and engravings were the first in the Northern Renaissance to use classical motifs from antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. Durer’s unparalleled skill in drawing and engraving as well as mastery of perspective allowed him rapid execution of a range of motifs which elicit universal admiration to this day.