Albrecht Dürer

A good, strong impression, upper left, printing slightly dry. With the 16 birds and before the crack in the horizon; with the gap in the upper left margin; before the damage in the young woman’s right eye. With a margin up to approx. 5 mm wide around the borderline. In this woodcut, Dürer depicts a scene from ancient mythology, which was unusual in Germany before 1500 and in the medium of woodcut. Dürer therefore inserted a small scroll at the top of the picture explaining that the muscular fighter in the foreground, clad in an animal skin and having defeated two armoured knights, is Hercules. It is likely that the inscription originally contained a further addition, which Dürer subsequently cut away (Albrecht Dürer. Die Druckgraphiken im Städel-Museum, exhibition catalogue, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao/Städel-Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne 2008, p. 50, no. 10 (Martin Sonnabend)). – In the lower left corner with scattered stains; on the reverse, small brown spots. Horizontal, print-related fold, partially restored. The lower right corner tip torn. Two tiny marginal tears, approx. 2–3 mm in the edges; otherwise in good condition.