The Virgin and Child with a Monkey - Albrecht Dürer
Archival giclée
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Description
An early engraving by Albrecht Dürer, depicting the Virgin and Child alongside a tethered monkey in a detailed Northern European landscape.
Albrecht Dürer produced this engraving around 1498, during his early career. The composition features the Virgin Mary seated on a grassy bank, holding the Christ Child. A small monkey, tethered by a chain, sits at her feet. The inclusion of the animal introduces a curious element to the traditional devotional scene. In the period, monkeys often symbolised base human instincts or sin, which the presence of the holy figures serves to tame or control. The background displays a detailed Northern European landscape, complete with a river, a timber-framed building, and distant hills. Dürer demonstrates his mastery of the burin through the varied textures of the drapery, the foliage, and the animal fur. The cross-hatching technique creates depth and volume, allowing the figures to emerge from the surrounding environment. The artist's monogram, AD, is clearly visible at the bottom centre of the plate. This work reflects the technical precision Dürer brought to the medium of engraving. By combining a sacred subject with observational detail, he elevates the print beyond a simple religious icon. The scene invites close inspection of the individual components, from the delicate features of the Virgin to the specific rendering of the landscape elements. It remains a primary example of the artist's ability to integrate human figures with natural surroundings, a hallmark of his graphic output during the late fifteenth century.
Return policy
Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. EU customers have a 14-day cooling-off right. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
The Virgin and Child with a Monkey - Albrecht Dürer
Our Features
Designed for Lasting Impact
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Choose poster, framed print, canvas or framed canvas
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Artist Biography
Albrecht Dürer
He was born in Nuremberg, the son of a Hungarian goldsmith. He trained as a goldsmith himself before apprenticing with the painter and printmaker Michael Wolgemut. The metalwork training gave him the manual precision that made his prints extraordinary. Melencolia I, Knight, Death and the Devil, and Saint Jerome in His Study, all made between 1513 and 1514, are among the finest engravings ever produced. The density of cross-hatching, the control of tonal gradation, the rendering of fur, feathers, and stone: these are virtuoso performances in a medium that most artists treated as reproductive.
He drew a rhinoceros from a description and a sketch sent by letter. He had never seen one. Dürer's Rhinoceros (1515) is anatomically wrong in several respects (the animal has an extra horn and armour plating) but it remained the standard European image of a rhinoceros for three centuries.
He was one of the first artists to paint self-portraits as a primary subject. The Self-Portrait at Twenty-Eight (1500) shows him facing the viewer directly, with long hair and a fur coat, in a pose traditionally reserved for Christ. It was either an act of supreme confidence or deliberate blasphemy. Probably both.
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