Albrecht Dürer's Melancholia

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The notion of the tortured artist has been accepted for thousands of years. The question of how we got to this modern understanding, involves looking to previous understandings of creativity and the artist. Creativity is often understood as an unexplainable force that resists explanation, yet shapes our human experience immensely. During a point in history, melancholia becomes an ideal quality to possess. Melancholia was once a widely feared disease, then a shared concept of genius and creativity. In an effort to gain social acceptance and prominent status, artists have been mimicking models of melancholia for centuries. My goal in this paper is to explore past understandings of creativity and how imagery of melancholia explains the evolution …show more content…
The dramatic scene includes a winged figure, presumably the personification of melancholia, sharing the pictoral space with a putto writing on a tablet, and a sleeping dog, along with objects that belong to ideas of time and measure which seem to provide no hope for the dejected winged being, a soul that is weighed down by its own intellect. The allegorical print showcases the artist’s talent through details of texture and light, a remarkable example of intaglio technique. What is even more engaging then the technical aspects of this print is the subject matter, the winged figure in an evident state of dismay or frustration. For the most part, the overall composition is somewhat puzzling. Dürer has conveniently placed the title in the upper left hand corner on a banner carried by a bat-like creature. We have various interpretations of this print, but no definite understanding. Was it a diagnosis or an expression of Dürer’s personal struggle? What do the items near the figure signify and how do they all fit together? The angelic figure in the space is surrounded by carpentry tools, and holds in upward gaze in seeming aggravation. The image illustrates the figure with a book laying in her lap and a pair of dividers grasped in her hand. The ladder, which may bring descent into hell or ascent into the heavens, symbolizes both unpredictable moods and even …show more content…
Because the nature of print allows for a greater audience, the meaning of Dürer’s virtuosic print may have been more accessible for its intended audience. However, the visual notes are not well translated today. Laurinda Dixon, provides a scholarly opinion on Dürer’s print and its translation. “Its cryptic imagery, with references to philosophy, geometry, astrology, alchemy, and medicine, has inspired diverse and sometimes fantastic explanations, though most scholars generally agree that the engraving was intended both as a personal statement and as a manifesto in support of the Renaissance phenomenon of the “artist as genius.” As such, Melencolia I marks a turning point in history, when the conventional medieval perception of art as a predominantly manual craft was augmented by the belief that artists possessed unique intellectual and creative gifts.”
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