Knight, Death and the Devil
Encyclopedia
Knight, Death and the Devil is a large 1513 engraving
, one of the three "master prints" of the German artist Albrecht Dürer
. The print
portrays an armored Christian Knight
riding through a narrow gorge flanked by a pig-snouted devil and the figure of death
riding a pale horse. Death holds an hourglass
to remind the knight of the shortness of his life. The rider moves through the scene ignoring or looking away from the creatures lurking around him. He appears to be almost contemptuous of the threats, and as such is often seen to be a symbol of courage.
Death, the Devil, and the landscape are all rendered in a bleakly Nordic
manner. Both characters are threatening
to the knight, who is seemingly protected by the literal and figurative armor of his faith
. It is believed by most art historians to be linked with publications of the Dutch humanist and theologian Erasmus's
Enchiridion militis Christiani (Handbook of a Christian soldier). The engraving draws from Psalm 23
; "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil". Knight, Death and the Devil is dated and signed by the artist; the bottom left of the tablet is scribed "S. (=Salus/in the year of grace) 1513."
Copies are held in a number of major galleries and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art
in New York and the British Museum
in London.
style. Many of the forms blend into each other. The outline of the horse is built from a series of interlocking curves, while the knight's chin is woven into the line of his helmet. These two central figures are surrounded by a tangled mass of branches, harness and hair, which according to art historian Raymond Stites contrast with the relatively solid figure of the knight and his horse to set them as a "tangible idea in a world of changing forms". The man is shown looking doggedly straight ahead, he does not allow his line of vision be interrupted or distracted by the demons beside him.
Death is shown with his horse in the left background, and rendered without nose or lips in lighter shades than the other figures. A skull seen in the lower foreground, directly in the Knight's path, whilst a dog is running between the two horses.
but was not a commission and does not contain an overtly political message. Instead it reaches back to a medieval sense of morality, and is replete with Gothic imagery. The engraving bears similarities in mood and tone to one of Dürer's other great prints Melencolia I
. The knight seems resigned, and his facial features are downcast. His gloomy posture is in contrast to the sturdy look of his horse. While his armor may protect him, for now, against the surrounding demons, the skull on a stump is held front of the horse and the fall of the sand held by death in the face of the knight. According to writer Dorothy Getlein, "there is a sense of obsolescence about the knight accompanied by Death and the Devil."
Moritz Thausing
suggested that Dürer created Knight, Death and the Devil as part of a four-work cycle, designed to illustrate the four temperaments. According to Thausing, Knight, Death and the Devil was intended to represent sanguinity, hence the "S" engraved in the work. It is generally believed that the portrayal is a literal, though pointed, celebration of the knight's Christian faith, and also of the ideals of Humanism
. An alternative interpretation was presented in 1970 by writer Sten Karling, when he suggested that the work did not seek to glorify the knight, but instead depict a "robber Baron". Karling points to the lack of Christian or religious symbolism in the work and to the fox's tail wrapped on top the knight's lance – in Greek legend the fox's tail was a symbol of greed, cunning and treachery, as well as lust and whoring.
Because of its high quality, the work is considered one among three of Dürer's "Meisterstiche" (master prints); along with Saint Jerome in His Study (1514) and Melencolia I
(1514). In particular, the horse is skillfully rendered in geometric shapes that call to mind Leonardo
and reflect the Renaissance
interest in natural sciences and anatomy.
wrote two poems titled "Ritter, Tod, und Teufel" (I) and "Ritter, Tod und Teufel" (II). In the first he praises the knight's courage
, writing, "Being / brave, Teuton, you surely will be / worthy of the Devil and Death." In the second he compares his state to the knight, writing, "It's me and not the Knight that the old, white-faced man, head crowned with writhing snakes, exhorts."
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, one of the three "master prints" of the German artist Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
. The print
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are...
portrays an armored Christian Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
riding through a narrow gorge flanked by a pig-snouted devil and the figure of death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
riding a pale horse. Death holds an hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
to remind the knight of the shortness of his life. The rider moves through the scene ignoring or looking away from the creatures lurking around him. He appears to be almost contemptuous of the threats, and as such is often seen to be a symbol of courage.
Death, the Devil, and the landscape are all rendered in a bleakly Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
manner. Both characters are threatening
to the knight, who is seemingly protected by the literal and figurative armor of his faith
Armor of God
The phrase "Armor of God" is directly derived from Ephesians : "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." As a Biblical reference, the metaphor may refer literally to physical armor worn by God in metaphorical battles, or it may refer to vigilant...
. It is believed by most art historians to be linked with publications of the Dutch humanist and theologian Erasmus's
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
Enchiridion militis Christiani (Handbook of a Christian soldier). The engraving draws from Psalm 23
Psalm 23
In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music....
; "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil". Knight, Death and the Devil is dated and signed by the artist; the bottom left of the tablet is scribed "S. (=Salus/in the year of grace) 1513."
Copies are held in a number of major galleries and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in London.
Composition
The engraving is heavily indebted to the GothicGothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
style. Many of the forms blend into each other. The outline of the horse is built from a series of interlocking curves, while the knight's chin is woven into the line of his helmet. These two central figures are surrounded by a tangled mass of branches, harness and hair, which according to art historian Raymond Stites contrast with the relatively solid figure of the knight and his horse to set them as a "tangible idea in a world of changing forms". The man is shown looking doggedly straight ahead, he does not allow his line of vision be interrupted or distracted by the demons beside him.
Death is shown with his horse in the left background, and rendered without nose or lips in lighter shades than the other figures. A skull seen in the lower foreground, directly in the Knight's path, whilst a dog is running between the two horses.
Background and interpretation
The work was created while Dürer was in the service of the Emperor MaximilianMaximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
but was not a commission and does not contain an overtly political message. Instead it reaches back to a medieval sense of morality, and is replete with Gothic imagery. The engraving bears similarities in mood and tone to one of Dürer's other great prints Melencolia I
Melencolia I
Melencolia I is a 1514 engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. It is an allegorical composition which has been the subject of many interpretations...
. The knight seems resigned, and his facial features are downcast. His gloomy posture is in contrast to the sturdy look of his horse. While his armor may protect him, for now, against the surrounding demons, the skull on a stump is held front of the horse and the fall of the sand held by death in the face of the knight. According to writer Dorothy Getlein, "there is a sense of obsolescence about the knight accompanied by Death and the Devil."
Moritz Thausing
Moritz Thausing
Moritz Thausing was an Austrian art historian, and counts among the founders of the Vienna School of Art History.- Life :...
suggested that Dürer created Knight, Death and the Devil as part of a four-work cycle, designed to illustrate the four temperaments. According to Thausing, Knight, Death and the Devil was intended to represent sanguinity, hence the "S" engraved in the work. It is generally believed that the portrayal is a literal, though pointed, celebration of the knight's Christian faith, and also of the ideals of Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
. An alternative interpretation was presented in 1970 by writer Sten Karling, when he suggested that the work did not seek to glorify the knight, but instead depict a "robber Baron". Karling points to the lack of Christian or religious symbolism in the work and to the fox's tail wrapped on top the knight's lance – in Greek legend the fox's tail was a symbol of greed, cunning and treachery, as well as lust and whoring.
Because of its high quality, the work is considered one among three of Dürer's "Meisterstiche" (master prints); along with Saint Jerome in His Study (1514) and Melencolia I
Melencolia I
Melencolia I is a 1514 engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. It is an allegorical composition which has been the subject of many interpretations...
(1514). In particular, the horse is skillfully rendered in geometric shapes that call to mind Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and reflect the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
interest in natural sciences and anatomy.
Legacy
Argentinian writer and poet Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
wrote two poems titled "Ritter, Tod, und Teufel" (I) and "Ritter, Tod und Teufel" (II). In the first he praises the knight's courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, writing, "Being / brave, Teuton, you surely will be / worthy of the Devil and Death." In the second he compares his state to the knight, writing, "It's me and not the Knight that the old, white-faced man, head crowned with writhing snakes, exhorts."
Sources
- Bailey, Martin. Dürer. London: Phidon Press, 1995. ISBN 0-7148-3334-7
- Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960.
- Getlein, Dorothy & Getlein, Dorothy V. The Bite of the Print: Satire and Irony in Woodcuts, Engravings, Etchings, Lithographs and Serigraphs. New York: C. N. Potter, 1963
- Nürnberg, Verlag Hans Carl. Dürer in Dublin: Engravings and woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. Chester Beatty Library, 1983
- Panofsky, Erwin. The life and art of Albrecht Durer. Princeton University Press, 1945
- Stites, Raymond. The Arts and Man. New York; London: Whittlesey House, McGraw-hill Book Company, Inc., 1940