Shop art print and framed art La Mélancolie by Albrecht Dürer

Melencolia I or La Melencolia is the name given to a copper engraving by Albrecht Dürer dated 1514. The title is taken from the work itself, where it appears as part of the composition. Melencolia I is often considered to be part of a series, Meisterstiche, which also includes The Knight, Death and the Devil (1513) and Saint Jerome in his Cell (1514). This exceptionally richly symbolic work has been the subject of numerous studies. Melencolia synthesises a multiplicity of symbolic elements. These symbolic objects are also adorned with affective elements that reinforce the contrasts intended to arouse our fascination: for example, the posture of the great angel, depicted in a hieratic manner but who seems to induce, through the majestic indifference added to the strength of his gaze, a secret tension directed towards the denouement of the melancholy emanating from the dark star and the flying creature. On the inside of its wings, the creature bears the name of the engraving: Melencolia. Etymologically, melancholy is exactly rendered by black bile or black mood, and the melancholic temperament, with a predominance of atrabile (or black bile), was the fourth and last temperament considered by Hippocratic medicine. Dürer inserted a sign between the word Melencolia and the final I. Exegetes have wondered about its meaning, and it is probably intentional that Dürer drew it in such a way that, given its ornamental character, which is not found in the other letters, it can be seen [...]

 

This artwork is a poster from the renaissance period. It belongs to the classical print & engraving style.

 

« La Mélancolie » is kept at Musée du Louvre (Collection Rothschild), Paris, France.

 

Find the full description of La Mélancolie by Albrecht Dürer on Wikipedia.