Colophon, from the Large Passion
1511
Medium
Letterpress in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
45.2 × 31 cm (17 13/16 × 12 1/4 in.)
Classification
letterpress
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
210828
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This colophon was typically printed on the verso of The Ressurection, the final image in the Passion series, giving the date, Dürer’s name, and a long-winded copyright warning placing the images under the protection of the Emperor Maximilian. However, this impression of the colophon from the 1911 edition is without the woodcut on the other side. The fact that this page of printer’s waste survived is remarkable, even considering the fame of Dürer’s woodcuts.
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...