Back to Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2005

PRESS CONTACT:           
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu

Rare exhibition of the German master’s
so-called three Master Prints,
together for the first time at Cornell

Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents Albrecht Dürer: The Master Prints, which will be on view at the Museum from October 6 to December 11, 2005.

November 2004 marked the end of more than fifty years’ wait for the Johnson Museum’s print collection. With the acquisition of a rich, early impression of Albrecht Dürer’s 1513 engraving Knight, Death, and the Devil, the trio of the German artist’s so-called master prints is at last complete at Cornell. The other two engravings, St. Jerome in his Study (1514) and Melencolia I (1514) were given in 1947 by William P. Chapman, Jr., Class of 1895.

Works on paper can only be exposed to light for short periods and must be “rested” for a period of years afterward. This exhibition will provide a rare opportunity for the campus and community to see all three master prints together.

“These prints represent the pinnacle of Dürer’s skill as an engraver, and their complex, often arcane symbolism has made them a subject of fascination and debate for almost five centuries,” said Andrew C. Weislogel, assistant curator and master teacher at the Johnson Museum. “They provide a feast of symbols and visual details to stimulate discussion and astonish the eye.”

Although there is no evidence to suggest that Dürer created the three prints as a series to be marketed together, as he did with many of his prints, there are several elements linking them together. They are almost identical in size, and each features a skull, a dog, and an hourglass. Dürer  made them during a point in his career when he was focused exclusively on engravings and had stopped making paintings and woodcuts, and the prints have traditionally been grouped and collected together. The prints have long been seen to stand for the three modes of virtuous living—active (Knight, Death, and the Devil), contemplative (St. Jerome in his Study), and intellectual (Melencolia I)—though no specific narrative is present in any of them.

The master prints will be accompanied by other Dürer prints from the Museum’s permanent collection.

The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, chairman of S. C. Johnson & Sons, makers of Johnson Wax. The building opened in 1973.

###

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.net

-30-