ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Holy Family in an Enclosed Garden

1512
Not on view
This drawing is a variation on a popular fifteenth-century theme in which the Madonna is portrayed seated in a rose garden or on a grassy bank. The arbor suggests the enclosed garden, or hortus conclusus, a visual metaphor for Mary’s virginity. Durer’s working technique - lightly sketched outlines, areas of parallel hatching to differentiate light and shadow, and little attempt at three-dimensionality - exemplifies his graphic production during the second decade of the fifteenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Holy Family in an Enclosed Garden
  • Artist: Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)
  • Date: 1512
  • Medium: Pen and reddish brown ink.
  • Dimensions: 10 9/16 x 7 7/8 in. (26.8 x 19.8 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.860
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Opera Alberti Dureri. Das ist / Alle Bücher des weitberühmbten... .cont.: Underweysung der messung [. . .] vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion; Etliche underricht /zu befestigung// der Stett/ Schloss und flecken
Albrecht Dürer
Johannes Janssonius
1603–4
Di Alberto Durero Pittore, e Geometra. . .della Simmetria dei Corpi Humani, Libri Quattro Nuouamente Tradotti dalla Lingua Latina nella Italiana
Multiple artists/makers
1591
The Nativity, from The Life of the Virgin, Latin Edition, 1511, Albrecht Dürer German, Woodcut
The Nativity, from The Life of the Virgin, Latin Edition, 1511
Albrecht Dürer
1511
Tractatus de horis Canonicis
Multiple artists/makers
June 8, 1514
Masquerade Dance with Torches, Albrecht Dürer German, Woodcut; Dershau restrike, 1922
Masquerade Dance with Torches
Albrecht Dürer
1922

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.