Knight, Death, and the Devil

Knight, Death, and the Devil

Albrecht Dürer worked in Nuremberg, Germany, beyond the range of the Italian Renaissance. Dürer visited Italy multiple times during his long career, and was inspired by the Classical style and humanistic thought of the region. He represents the artistic patronage system that sprang up around German cities; the wealth of the commercial revolution allowed cities to sponsor painters and sculptors. Dürer was known as a printmaker, but he also worked as a painter and writer. Dürer’s Knight, Death, and the Devil is meant to represent the moral virtue expected of medieval knights, and it exemplifies Dürer’s prolific printmaking abilities. This image represents a key difference between the Renaissance in Italy and in Northern Europe; the Italian Renaissance was deeply steeped in religious imagery and depictions of mythology, while the Northern Renaissance was much more focused on intellectual and humanist thought.

Albrecht Dürer

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