303 - Albrecht Dürer (1471 – Nuremberg – 1528), The Monstrous Pig of Landser.

Albrecht Dürer (1471 – Nuremberg – 1528), The Monstrous Pig of Landser. Engraving on laid paper. (1496). 11.8 x 12.7 cm (sheet). Bartsch 95; Meder 82 c–d (of h); Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum 8 c–d (of h). A superb, richly inked impression, with fine wiping scratches in the upper right and faint wiping scratches beneath the pig’s foot. Trimmed to or on the borderline, fractionally within at the lower edge. An early work, still firmly rooted in the 15th century. The subject has traditionally been associated with an event in Nuremberg at Easter 1496, when a conjoined pig was exhibited publicly. It has also been linked to the birth of a malformed pig with two bodies and eight legs in Landser, Alsace, on March 1, 1496—an event described by Sebastian Brant in a contemporary broadsheet. The tip of the upper left corner has been repaired. The paper has a few tiny brown spots, mainly visible on the reverse. The reverse shows slight thinning of the paper in the corners due to previous mounting. Otherwise in good condition. Very rare. Taxation: subject to standard taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).