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Knight, Death and the Devil

Prints and Drawings

Knight, Death and the Devil is a copperplate engraving by Albrecht Durer, made in 1513 and measuring about 24.5 by 19.1 centimetres. It shows an armored knight riding steadily through a narrow, menacing gorge accompanied by his dog, while a skeletal figure of Death carrying an hourglass and a goat-headed devil flank his path and a skull lies ahead. One of Durer's three so-called Meisterstiche, or master engravings, it has long been read as an image of Christian faith and steadfast virtue overcoming worldly danger, and it went on to exert wide influence in German culture, cited by thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and later invoked, against its original meaning, by Nazi propagandists as an emblem of German resolve.

Facts
Year Created
1513 1
Medium
Engraving 1
Classification
Genre
Printmaking 1
Connections

Associated With

Engraving, Artistic Techniques

Knight, Death and the Devil is one of Durer's master engravings.

Created By

Sources
1. Knight, Death and the Devil (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead sentence, date clause ('a large 1513 engraving')
    Knight, Death and the Devil is a large 1513 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, one of the three Meisterstiche completed during a period when he almost ceased to work in paint or woodcuts to focus on engravings.
  • Lead sentence, medium clause ('a large 1513 engraving')
    Knight, Death and the Devil is a large 1513 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, one of the three Meisterstiche completed during a period when he almost ceased to work in paint or woodcuts to focus on engravings.
  • Genre reference
    Knight, Death and the Devil is a copperplate engraving by Albrecht Durer, made in 1513 and measuring about 24.
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