Detail of Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Durer in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2010

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
probably 1519


Object Details

Artist: Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

Date: probably 1519

Medium: Oil on linden

Dimensions: 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 in. (60 x 49.8 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913

Accession Number: 14.40.633


Dürer traveled to Italy from 1505–7, in particular to Venice where he met Giovanni Bellini. The juxtaposition of the two paintings here by Bellini and Dürer shows their shared interests not only in rich color and meticulous attention to detail, but especially in simplicity of form. Dürer’s haunting devotional painting depicts Saint Anne, who was particularly venerated in Germany, with the Virgin and Child. Anne’s hand on her daughter's shoulder takes on a consolatory meaning, and her distant gaze suggests a premonition of Christ's Passion. Although this panel’s date and monogram were added later, the picture was likely painted in that year.

Text from:
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436244