5072 - Dürer, Albrecht

Dürer, Albrecht Nemesis, or: Great Fortune. Copperplate engraving. 32.7 x 22.3 cm. Circa 1501–02. B. 77, Meder 72 II b (von f). Mark: High Crown (Meder 20). Although Bartsch and Heller had titled this programmatic and carefully composed print—which is surpassed in size only by “St. Eustace”— “Great Fortune,” Bernhard Hausmann was able to establish a connection to the depiction of “Nemesis” mentioned by Dürer in his writings. The artist gave her “the form of a naked, winged woman of powerful stature and full figure, hovering high above the earth as if ruling the world. Seen in strict profile, the avenger stands on a sphere with outstretched wings and the hem of her robe fluttering in the wind. (...) The attributes symbolize the balancing qualities of the goddess of retribution, who dispenses punishment and reward to humanity in just measure.” (Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum, p. 97). The landscape depicts the town of Klausen in Tyrol at the confluence of the Eisack and Tinnebach rivers. Dürer stopped here on his journey to Italy, which had previously taken him over the Brenner Pass. An absolutely superb print, with delicate tonal shading and rich contrast, showing beautiful relief in the dense shadow areas of the figure, especially the wings. Trimmed just within the plate edge, with minimal loss of detail on the left, bottom, and top. Trivial dusting; the outer edges of the upper half of the sheet are slightly stained and, in places, show very superficial scrapes, the color of which has been very carefully matched to the paper tone; similar scrapes are present in isolated spots in the sky, two barely noticeable closed edge tears on the left above the tip of the fluttering fabric and on the rocky plateau, a small tear in the outer margin at the bottom left, a tiny closed hole with subtle pen-and-ink retouching at the knee, a reinforcement on the recto that is imperceptible on the right within the horizontal lines of the clouds, other only very slight repairs, mounted on Japanese paper along the outermost edges on the verso, otherwise in fine condition. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.