Live Auction 21481Old Master and 19th Century Prints
ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)
Lot 14 PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED NORTHERN ITALIAN FAMILY

ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)

The Angel with the Key to the Bottomless Pit, from: The Apocalypse

Closed24 January 2023

Price Realised

USD 12,600

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ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528)
The Angel with the Key to the Bottomless Pit, from: The Apocalypse
woodcut, circa 1497-98, on laid paper, without watermark, a very fine, rich impression, probably from the first German or Latin text edition of 1498, without text verso (as issued), printing very evenly, with thread margins or trimmed to the borderline, the lower left corner made up and other skilful repairs
Block & Sheet 391 x 282 mm.

Specialist note

This is the closing image of the Apocalypse. The war over Heaven and Earth is won and the devil is about to be locked away for a thousand years. The sky is again populated by birds rather than sword-wielding angels and demons. On the hilltop, an angel points toward the Heavenly City of Jerusalem, with its gates guarded by other angels. To emphasise the proximity of these events Dürer pictures the city as a Franconian town, a Nuremberg by the sea.
As the last plate of the series, this woodcut was never printed with any text on the verso, as the accompanying text was printed on the verso of the previous page.