Original engraving, monogrammed in plate; Meder 83 a-b/k;
Superb proof, intense and velvety, of this early masterpiece. The proof under review has the characteristics of the first and second variants, printed on paper without watermark, but typical of the period. Imprinted before the appearance of the scratches on the cheek of the young man and on the headdress of the female figure, typical of the third variant.
Complete with all the engraved part and in perfect condition.
The compositional perfection, thematic depth and iconographic originality of The Promenade show the superiority of Albrecht Dürer, who at only twenty-five years of age is able to tackle thick themes and give them body on the matrix with mastery and inimitable skill. This is among the works that led Erwin Panofsky, an art historian who is among the foremost experts on Dürer's work, to say: Dürer, in this field [engraving] anticipating the Italians, was one of the first artists to assert that the main requirement of a good master was "to produce new things that had never before been in the mind of any man." He held in contempt those who "imitated" his compositions in their work and mocked Venetian artists who, too lacking in imagination to invent "new stories," merely painted the same old subjects over and over again. (E. Panofsky, Italian ed. the Life and Works of Albrecht Dürer, p. 62).
Reflections of a young man at the end of the XV century!