Facsimile of Albrecht Dürer’s Third Knot

Design for a roundel made up out of so-called knot work. The main pattern has a circular shape and is presented in white on a dark ground. The knotted ropes or straps form circular patterns or wreaths, which can be separated into two main tiers around the central motif, which is a blank scalloped shield. On all four corners another, leaf-shaped ornament has been added which sticks out of the circle. The leaves are filled with more knot work in white on the dark ground with swirling calligraphic lines around them.

The print reproduces an Italian interlace design attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. It is one of six designs that were translated into engravings in Milan in the late fifteenth century. The German artist Albrecht Durer likely encountered them during his second trip to Italy and made a set of copies in woodcut several years later. They show minor alterations that may have been necessitated by the change of medium. Many posthumous impressions of the prints exist, which can be identified by the addition of his initials AD.

This print is a facsimile created in the nineteenth century by Ralf Leopold von Retberg-Wettbergen who was an avid collector of Durer's graphic work. He also copied a small number of some of Durer's rarest woodcuts in limited editions of ca. 25-50 copies, which were not sold but donated to friends and collectors. Each is carefully inscribed on the verso to clarify their status as copies.