Arkivism
Melancholia
Public domain

Melancholia

Albrecht Dürer · 1514 · engraving; paper

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

Even after more than five centuries not all of the questions raised by this enigmatic print have been satisfactorily answered. What is certain is that melancholy (the humour associated with black gall), the temperament linked to creative genius as found in artists and scholars, is depicted here. The realisation that everything man creates is imperfect fills Melancholia with a deep, fathomless grief.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Credit lineMelancholia. 1514. Albrecht Dürer. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.

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