Melencolia I

During the Renaissance, melancholy, traditionally considered the least desirable of the four human temperaments, began to be regarded in a more positive light by humanist scholars, who associated the condition with highly creative and intelligent individuals. Informed by these ideas, the German artist Albrecht Dürer created Melencolia I, his most challenging and enigmatic engraving, whose meaning has been much debated over the centuries.

The winged figure, a personification
of melancholy, is surrounded by many objects bearing symbolic meaning. These include various tools and items associated with scientific and creative endeavour – particularly geometry, astronomy and arithmetic – which attest to her intelligence and imagination. At the same time she appears weighed down by her thoughts, presumably regarding the pursuit of earthly knowledge and the transience of life. Items such as the hourglass and the bell are reminders of death, while the dog was an animal traditionally associated with melancholy. Remedies for melancholy include the wreath of lovage worn in the woman’s hair and the ‘magic square’ number puzzle, or tabula jovis, which was believed to be linked to the healing powers of the supreme god Jupiter.

Julie Robinson, Senior Curator Prints, Drawings and Photographs