DÜRER Albrecht (1471 - 1528) - "The Martyrdom... Lot 52

DÜRER Albrecht (1471 - 1528) - "The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine". c.1498. Engraved wood. Signed with the artist's monogram at the bottom of the plate. Ref: Bartsch, no. 120, Meder, no. 236. Hollstein, n°236. Proof of a late print, on laid paper (The wood is kept in the Metropolitan Museum in New York since 1921). Margins. St. Catherine of Alexandria was one of the most revered saints of Dürer's time. Condemned to torture and death by the Emperor Maxentius, she was saved by a rain of fire that destroyed the wheel on which she was to be bound. Although spared by her fate, she is finally beheaded. In this composition, Dürer merges the two scenes of her martyrdom, the destruction of the wheel by divine intervention and her death. The scene of chaos and destruction caused by the fiery rain, very reminiscent of the catastrophic events of the Apocalypse, is juxtaposed with the serene figure of the Saint kneeling before her executioner, calmly awaiting her death. 42 x 30.5 cm. Condition A/B (rare small folds on the edge of the margins, a tiny little stain in the right margin and slight traces of sunstroke on the reverse, one of which is visible on the front).