Albrecht Dürer

A good, silvery Meder a-b impression, with some of the vertical lines as traces of a planned building still faintly visible. This engraving, created alongside six smaller prints before Dürer’s journey to the Netherlands, presents an unusual image of Saint Anthony—not in the desert or in the throes of temptation, but as a solitary figure reading by the roadside outside a fortified city. Symbolising the vita contemplativa, his only attribute is a double cross with a bell, referencing his charitable work with lepers. The compact, introspective figure—almost fully enveloped in his habit—echoes the form and mood of Dürer's St Jerome in His Study. Behind him rises an idealised cityscape, blending elements of Nuremberg, Trentino, and Innsbruck, likely based on sketches from Dürer’s first Italian journey. The slender cross above the city links foreground and background, suggesting Anthony’s spiritual influence beyond the city walls. With narrow margins on three sides; trimmed to the platemark on the top. – Slight foxing. A discoloured area in the upper right corner. Minor paper dents along the edges; upper left corner tip slightly damaged, otherwise in good condition.