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拍品專文
A knight in armour on his magnificent charger makes his way through a rocky gorge. It is a hostile place with barren, broken trees, thorny shrubs and a human skull positioned on a tree stump, as if in warning. Two figures stand by the wayside, as if emerging from the rocks: King Death astride an old mare, holding an hourglass, with snakes winding through his crown; and a monstrous devil standing on his hoofs, holding a pike.
Countless attempts have been made to identify the central figure, which Dürer simply referred to as der Reuther ('the rider'). Suggestions have included emperor, pope, heretic, Germanic hero and local patrician. None of the potential candidates, either historical or mythological, have been substantiated. The knight as robber baron - a genuine threat in the days of Dürer - is also lacking visual evidence. The precursors of Dürer's rider are the two great equestrian statues of the Italian 15th Century, Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Colleoni in Venice, both of which Dürer had seen, and - much closer to home - the Rider of Bamberg Cathedral. Whatever his true identity, Dürer's rider is clearly cast in the heroic mould, a model of courage and moral strength, the Christian Knight, who does not fear Death or the Devil.
The present impression comes from the collection of Paul Davidsohn, one of the great collectors of the late 19th and early 20th century. A native of Gdansk, Davidsohn moved to Scotland as a young man, then set up a trading firm in London, where he lived for twenty year. It was here, around 1870, that he began to collect old master prints, with a focus on Dürer, Rembrandt and Ostade. The sale of his collection in 1920 was the first great auction of old master prints after the war in Germany, and was celebrated for the depth and quality of his holdings, in particular of the prints by Albrecht Dürer.
Countless attempts have been made to identify the central figure, which Dürer simply referred to as der Reuther ('the rider'). Suggestions have included emperor, pope, heretic, Germanic hero and local patrician. None of the potential candidates, either historical or mythological, have been substantiated. The knight as robber baron - a genuine threat in the days of Dürer - is also lacking visual evidence. The precursors of Dürer's rider are the two great equestrian statues of the Italian 15th Century, Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua and Verrocchio's Colleoni in Venice, both of which Dürer had seen, and - much closer to home - the Rider of Bamberg Cathedral. Whatever his true identity, Dürer's rider is clearly cast in the heroic mould, a model of courage and moral strength, the Christian Knight, who does not fear Death or the Devil.
The present impression comes from the collection of Paul Davidsohn, one of the great collectors of the late 19th and early 20th century. A native of Gdansk, Davidsohn moved to Scotland as a young man, then set up a trading firm in London, where he lived for twenty year. It was here, around 1870, that he began to collect old master prints, with a focus on Dürer, Rembrandt and Ostade. The sale of his collection in 1920 was the first great auction of old master prints after the war in Germany, and was celebrated for the depth and quality of his holdings, in particular of the prints by Albrecht Dürer.