Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) is one of the most influential European Renaissance representatives. His artworks “Praying Hands”, “Rhinoceros” or “The Brown Hare” are known all over the world.
He was considered to be a genius, already famous during his lifetime as accomplished painter, engraver, gifted mathematician and cultural theorist.
His 3 masterworks, the copper plate “Melencolia 1” was finished 1514, when he was 43 years old, the engraving “Knight, Death and Devil” he completed 1413 and the third copper plate called “Hieronymus”was engraved in 1514, too. The latter one he mostly gave away together with the copper plate “Melencolia 1”. As all three copper plates have the same formats (25×18 cm) one could think that there is a connection and the three plates belong together and depict modes of living, as “vita activa” (active life) the plate with “Knight, Death and Devil” and the “Hieronymus” plate as “vita contemplativa”, ( contemplative life).
But with “Melencolia 1” what kind of life would it symbolize? A future way of life, combining both modes and adding natural science to it, which was in the Renaissance moving to the front, but would puzzle man insofar as one did not know where it was heading to or how it would be able to give answers to the apocalyptic outlook of that age.
“Melencolia 1” is regarded as the most puzzling, enigmatic of Dürer’s 3 masterpieces. There have been innumerable interpretations of the meaning up to this day.
It seems as if the engraving is an allegory to the central question of philosophy: What is the meaning of man in the world and in the cosmos? And it would also be the question which nearly every person would come to ask after having given much reflection to the artwork. And it is a question which is as valid today in the 21st century as it had been in the 16th century. With regard to climate change, overpopulation of the planet and pandemics (Covid-19) the world seems to be in an apocalyptic mode today, as well. And depression – as melancolia is called today – is meanwhile the second most common disease in the world.
Although Dürer seemed to be much ahead of his time – as all brilliant people appear to be – he was also embedded into a most turbulent time: The time of Renaissance- Humanism left behind the Middle Ages and opened up to modern times. But as a transition time it was the time between darkness (as often the Middle Ages are called) and enlightenment, the arrival of the new age of sciences, book printing and an enormous change of thinking and widening of consciousness.
The year of 1514 – when the engraving was completed – was exactly three years before Martin Luther gained public attention with his theses. Dürer was well familiar with the writings of Luther and embraced his thinking.
The Catholic Church had lost its overall influence and power on the people who were from then on left without orientation. This situation gave rise to much insecurity and fear. And the questions of the meaning of life and death troubled everyone. Salvation was uncertain from then on. In the end it depended on God’s grace alone. You couldn’t do much about it, especially not buying your soul out of hell as was possible before, when the Catholic Church sold indulgence letters for the salvation of the soul.
Into this time of uncertainty and insecurity fell the birth of the sciences and what we call development of Western thought. Now man hoped that science would prove what was right and wrong and provide answers to the emptiness which man felt within himself, after the influence of the church had receded.
But soon it became obvious to the learned men from all persuasions, that even science and reason couldn’t solve the riddles and mysteries of the world.
The old order of the world was dissolved, which you see in the engraving depicted in the messy arrangements of the many tools which artists and scientists used to apply in their work. But a new world order was not in sight.
Thus melencolia 1 became the symbol of the Renaissance time. But different from the Medieval time where melancholy was regarded as vice, as a sign of a character who has no delight in that what is good, beautiful and true, now the melancholia was upgraded. It became a sign of creativity of exceptional people.
You could name the image of the engraving as an expression of the psychic state of Albrecht Dürer and the state of the world at that time.
It is a puzzling experience of a transitional state where you are confronted with a lack of orientation, with feelings of emptiness, your world seems to become illusionary. This seems like a dusk, where everything appears to stand still, thrown into sleep mode. This is depicted in all the objects in the engraving.
A main concern in the Renaissance was – influenced by the Neo-Platonists – the re-discovery of Plato’s philosophy of the good, true and beautiful. Plato installed in one of his main works “Symposium” also called “The Banquet,” a stepladder about how to reach the highest good, beautiful and true, which is symbolized by God. It is a path of knowledge proceeding step by step. In the end the philosopher, the wise man would catch sight of the “summum bonum” by grace, but only a glimpse. And the philosopher will strive for ever to make connection with the divine, the omniscient, as does the artist in his artwork to express the most beautiful.
And Dürer was well familiar with Plato’s conception about the essence of beauty and how it would be possible to make it visible and how to construct it. According to Plato this is possible with help of basic geometric shapes which at the same time represent the archetypes of the ideal of beauty.
This engagement with geometric shapes you can see in the representation of the geometric elements in the engraving – how to construct ideal geometric forms and what tools you will need tor this endeavor.
Dürer studied over many years the ancient teachings of art- and proportions (in his words: “mas, tzall und gewicht” which translates as measurement, number and weight). But to his great disappointment he came to the conclusion that even mathematics would be of no help when you search for enlightenment. Then you make better use of metaphysical states which can be attained in religion. His insight: Science cannot lead man to the discovery of the absolute, which for Dürer symbolizes absolute beauty or perfection.
He wrote: “However, what true beauty really is, I don’t know. This to know is not revealed to man. Only God would know”.
Dürer is 41 years old when he writes this confession. And he continues: “Our dumb human mind is not apt for perfection. All our knowledge is deceptive. And our ignorance is so dark, that our groping search goes wrong.”
Not long after having come to this conclusion he started to work on his engraving “Melencolia 1” as it says on the banner which the emblematic creature bat-dragon (?), an animal of the night carries in the left upper corner of the artwork.
The picture shows Dürer’s great interest in mathematics and geometry. See the different tools which scientists and artists would use in their work but also astrologers and astronomers. So science was the great discovery and challenge of that time.
Dürer, as acclaimed mathematician, published the first book about mathematics in German with significant new insights which far surpassed the knowledge of mathematicians of his time. And he was the first man at that time to translate the teachings of Euclid into Latin.
Take note of the magic square on the right upper corner. It was called the square of Jupiter. Its horizontal, vertical and diagonal rows all sum to 34. This number is hidden everywhere in the magic square. When you turn the number around you arrive at Dürer’s own age in 1514, which was 43. The year of 1514 is also depicted in the middle of the last row of the magic square. To the left you find the number 4 (the fourth letter of the alphabet is “D”) and to the right side ends the last row with “1” (first letter for “A” in the alphabet). Albrecht Dürer was the first artist in history to put his initials “A+D on his artwork.
Some interpreters refer to the fact that his mother died in the same year in the month of may, which is the number 5, which is on top of a 6 in the magic square. His mother lived in his house and helped him to sell his artwork and seemed to have played an important role in his life.
It is said that the magic square was related with the planet Saturn which dominated the melancholia and construction. It was connected with the state of geniality, but also with madness. The Jupiter square served as charm or talisman against the negative influence of Saturn.
The title of the engraving summarizes this time of dissolution which is depicted in the messy arrangement of all tools and geometric forms in the artwork as well as in the straggly hair of the brooding figure. Also the leaning ladder has no base and seems to end nowhere.
End of part 1