317 - Albrecht Dürer (1471 – Nuremberg – 1528), *The Virgin on the Crescent with a Scepter and a Starry Crown*.

Albrecht Dürer (1471 – Nuremberg – 1528), *The Virgin on the Crescent with a Scepter and a Starry Crown*. Engraving on laid paper. (1516). 11.9 x 7.5 cm (sheet). Bartsch 32; Meder 37 b-c (of c); Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum 81 b-c (of c). A very good, richly inked impression, with particularly strong printing in the dark areas. With narrow margins. Immediately before the start of the Reformation, marked by Luther’s publication of the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, Dürer once again devoted particular attention to depictions of the Virgin, a focus that continued until around 1521–22. His aim was to combine the close observation of earthly reality achieved in the “Life of the Virgin” with a renewed emphasis on the sacred. In the “Virgin with the Crown of Stars,” Dürer depicts the Mother of God in the traditional guise of the Woman of the Apocalypse. – With a few brown spots. Reverse side with occasional traces of old adhesive. Otherwise in good condition. Taxation: subject to differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).