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Albrecht Dürer, German (1471-1528), The Ill-Assorted Couple, ca. 1520-1525, engraving on laid p…
The Ill-Assorted Couple
Albrecht Dürer, German (1471-1528), The Ill-Assorted Couple, ca. 1520-1525, engraving on laid paper, 5 7/8 x 5 7/16 in. (sheet), The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, Gift in memory of Leon H. and Marie Buttlar Sparling by their family, 2009.12.1

The Ill-Assorted Couple

Artist Albrecht Dürer German, 1471 - 1528
Dateca. 1520-1525
MediumEngraving on laid paper
DimensionsSheet: 5 7/8 x 5 7/16 in. (14.9 x 13.8 cm)
Matboard: 11 7/8 x 11 1/4 in. (30.2 x 28.6 cm)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineGift in memory of Leon H. and Marie Buttlar Sparling by their family
Object number2009.12.1
On View
On view
Collections
  • Works on Paper
SignedEngraved in the plate, center, bottom, capital "A" with a long line across the top of the letter, a plain Latin capital letter "D" between the lower legs of the A.
InscribedThree pencil inscriptions on the reverse; about 1" above the bottom center "B 93" (reference of the Bartsch number), in the LL "APG 17f (?) followed by two smaller numbers, possibly "22", and at the LR "R_(?) 5(?)3
MarkingsWatermark in the area of upper half of the female figure. In the description on the dealer's website it is described as "an apparently unrecorded form of the gothic P with a flower watermark" (copy in file). Armin Kunz appraisal identifies it as "Meder 321"
DescriptionA man and woman seated next to each other in a landscape. He is bearded and well-dressed with a fur-trimmed tunic. A crowned and brimmed hat, probably fur, is on the ground to his left. He looks directly at her while his left hand is reaching into a decorative bag, presumably holding money, suspended from his belt. She gazes into the distance while her left hand is open and reaching towards this bag as if to receive money. She holds a drawstring purse open on her lap with her right hand.

To the right a saddled horse is tied to a tree branch and is resting his back legs against the tree trunk.

At the left, behind the couple soft hills roll down then back up toward a town with towers, stepped gables and the arched windows of a church. The center background shows a river or large lake with one sailboat and low mountains on the far shore.

Exhibition History"Old Master Prints from the Sparling Family Collection", The Hyde Collection, Hoopes Gallery, Feb. 28 - May 25, 2009.

"What's New? Recent Acquisitions 2008-2010", Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, March 3 - May 29, 2011.

"50 at 50: Five Decades of Collecting at the Hyde". Wood Gallery, Education Wing, Hyde House, The Hyde Collection. Glens Falls, January 16, 2013 -April 14, 2013

"Growing Up in a Renaissance Palazzo: Childhood in Italy 1400-1600," Charles R. Wood Gallery, The Hyde Collection, Oct. 5, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025.

“Prosperity and Exclusion,” The Hyde Collection, Hoopes and Whitney-Renz Galleries, May 31 – Sept. 21, 2025ProvenancePurchased by the donor from the dealer, C & J. Goodfriend, NYC, 2008, no provenance listed by the dealer.