Knight, Death and the Devil
1513 · Engraving · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
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About this work
- Artist
- Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
- Year
- 1513
- Medium
- Engraving
- Original size
- 24.8 × 19 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
- Series
- Meisterstiche (Master Engravings)
A knight in full armour rides steadily through a narrow rocky gorge on a powerful horse, his dog running beside him, while Death on a pale nag holds up an hourglass and a goat-horned devil follows behind; a skull lies on a ledge in the foreground, and a fortified town crowns the hill above. Dürer engraved the plate in Nuremberg in 1513 and set his monogram and the date on a tablet at the lower left, preceded by the letter S. It is one of his three Master Engravings, with Melencolia I and Saint Jerome in His Study, made in a period when he concentrated on engraving almost to the exclusion of painting, and the three share a size and several motifs, among them a dog, a skull and an hourglass. The knight who ignores the threats around him is usually read as an image of steadfast Christian faith on life's journey, though its exact meaning has long been debated. Nietzsche cited it in The Birth of Tragedy. This impression is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
An armoured knight on a great horse passing Death and the Devil in a rocky gorge, dense black line on warm paper, for a study, library or hallway at 16×24 in black. A charcoal, white or warm stone wall; it pairs with The Polish Rider.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1513)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Knight, Death and the Devil in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Knight, Death and the Devil painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.





























