Albrecht Dürer: Black Lines Speak

The renowned Humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam stated, “What cannot Dürer express in monochromes, that is, by black lines only?” the same year that the groundbreaking Renaissance artist active in late 15th to early 16th century Germany, Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) died. As Erasmus noted, “black lines,” not paint colors, were the core element of Dürer’s art. Through his unprecedented use of these lines and their depictive abilities, he was an artist capable of drawing unseen subjects, as well as visible events. Dürer's deep understanding of the expressive and technical potential of prints as reproductive medium made him an unparalleled figure in art history, unstinting in his use of these techniques to distribute his own works. The countless prints produced in black ink carried his experimental artistic thoughts to people across geographic and temporal distances. 

This small exhibition presents all of the images from Dürer’s “Three Great Books” of 1511, namely the Latin reprint version of Apocalypse, the Large Passion, and the Life of the Virgin. These three books represent Dürer's use of the then-epoch-making movable type printing method. When the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (NMWA) opened in 1959, its collections were largely modern art, a policy which was revised in 1968 by Chisaburō Yamada when he became the museum's second director. He expanded the museum range to include active collecting of Old Master works and acquired Dürer’s Large Passion in 1970 (with one sheet acquired in 1974). This was the important starting point for the creation of the NMWA Old Master print collection. Then some fifty years later, the museum acquired Apocalypse in fiscal 2020, and the Life of the Virgin in fiscal 2022, completing the NMWA’s collection of Dürer's “Three Great Books” woodcuts.

Each of the woodcuts that you will see in this display of the “Three Great Books” is from the important 1511 edition which has the Latin text printed in movable type on the back and the margins of the print image. The NMWA kept in mind the fact that he published these woodcuts not only as a series but also in book form, and it took many years for opportunities to arise to buy the correct edition of each book. This exhibition also presents examples of works by earlier artists such as Andrea Mantegna, Martin Schongauer, and Israhel van Meckenem, who provided the artistic stimulation for Dürer in his production of Apocalypse, Large Passion, and Life of the Virgin. The further display of later works—from Lucas Cranach the Elder to Hendrik Goltzius—that were stimulated by Dürer's “Three Great Books” woodcuts will provide a sense of the multi-dimensional network of artistic connections surrounding these works.

Curator: Atsushi Shinfuji. For more information on this exhibition: Black Lines Speak: Dürer’s “Three Great Books” Woodcuts｜The National Museum of Western Art, on our Collection: Permanent Collection / The National Museum of Western Art. Concurrent exhibition in the Collection: Two Flemish Paintings from Tokyo and Bruges Reunited｜The National Museum of Western Art. Press inquiries : nmwa@ypcpr.com.