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Albrecht Dürer — The Holy Family with the Butterfly
Albrecht Dürer

The Holy Family with the Butterfly

"The Holy Family with the Butterfly" is an engraving by Albrecht Dürer that depicts Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child in an intimate domestic scene, with a butterfly prominently featured as a symbol of resurrection and the soul. Executed with Dürer's characteristic technical precision, the work demonstrates his mastery of the engraving medium through intricate linework and careful attention to light and shadow on the laid paper surface. The composition combines northern European religious devotion with Renaissance humanism, presenting the holy figures in a tender, human moment that was characteristic of Dürer's approach to sacred subjects.

Medium
engraving on laid paper

🔨 Auction Lot

Old Master Prints

November 29, 2024

Estimate: $8,000$12,000

Lot 608

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Spotted works by Albrecht Dürer

About this work

Albrecht Dürer, The Holy Family with the Butterfly

"The Holy Family with the Butterfly" is an engraving by Albrecht Dürer that depicts Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child in an intimate domestic scene, with a butterfly prominently featured as a symbol of resurrection and the soul. Executed with Dürer's characteristic technical precision, the work demonstrates his mastery of the engraving medium through intricate linework and careful attention to light and shadow on the laid paper surface. The composition combines northern European religious devotion with Renaissance humanism, presenting the holy figures in a tender, human moment that was characteristic of Dürer's approach to sacred subjects.

Medium
engraving on laid paper
Seen at
Sotheby's, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris

Related themes

German Artist, Serene Mood, Allegorical symbolism, Intimate Domestic Scene, Religious Subject Matter, Print Medium, 16th Century, Engraving, Northern Renaissance, Renaissance

More works by Albrecht Dürer

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago