Virgin and Child with the Pear
1511
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 1/4 × 4 1/4 in. (15.8 × 10.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
17.37.27
Tags
Art Historical Context
Albrecht Dürer, preeminent German artist of the Northern Renaissance, created *Virgin and Child with the* in 1511 as a delicate engraving on a modest sheet measuring just 6¼ × 4¼ inches. This intimate print depicts the Madonna tenderly offering a pear to the Christ Child, a motif rich in devotional symbolism where the fruit evokes themes of nourishment, purity, and divine grace. Produced late in Dürer's career following his influential travels to Italy, the work exemplifies his mastery of blending meticulous Northern detail with emerging Renaissance humanism. Dürer's engraving technique—incis...
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 ...