Title Page from Lucian's Ratione Conscribendae Historiae (How to Write History), 1513-1525
Albrecht Dürerexpand_more
Woodcutexpand_more
Gift of Herschel V. Jones, 1927expand_more P.11,009
Not on Viewexpand_more
Albrecht Dürer took obvious pleasure in supplying this design for his best friend, Willibald Pirckheimer (1470-1530). Pirckheimer was a wealthy, erudite statesman and one of Nuremberg's leading humanists. He translated Greek with ease, including Lucian's essay How to Write History, apparently done to encourage Germans to record their past. The birch tree crest held by putti is Pirckheimer's emblem (the German birke, meaning birch, is a play on his name). It is Pirckheimer who inscribed Dürer's famous epitaph: "Whatever was mortal of Albrecht Dürer is covered by this tomb."
Details
- Title
- Title Page from Lucian's Ratione Conscribendae Historiae (How to Write History)
- Artist Life
- 1471–1528
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- P.11,009
- Provenance
- P. Gellatly (L. 1185); and unidentified.
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Not in B; Pass. 205; M.XXI, 3; M.281; c. 5921
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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