A Closer Look: Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia I
Have you ever had an idea or feeling that you struggled to express? This is a very human experience that artists have wrestled with for centuries: how do I make visible something that exists in the mind? Art historians consider Melencolia I to be a psychological or spiritual self-portrait where Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) shows the struggles of the creative process, even for an artist of his extraordinary skill. For Dürer and other Renaissance artists and theorists, the question of how to capture perception, how the eye translates the physical and emotional world, was a central pursuit.
Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I, 1514, M. 75. Engraving on laid paper. Image courtesy of the Park West Foundation.
The title, Melencolia I, is a reference to one of the four “humours” or moods that a person could be afflicted with. Humourism dates to Ancient Egypt and Greece and stayed the popular framework for describing personality and health for centuries until the 1800s. An imbalance in bodily fluids like blood and phlegm was believed to cause imbalances in moods. In today’s terms, we would call melancholia depression.
From the 1500s to the 1700s, melancholia was a fashionable trait of artists and intellectuals. To be afflicted with great despair was a sign of great genius.
Below are some notes on the various details within the engraving. It might be an oversimplification to suggest, “read this like a tarot card,” yet an enduring appeal of this engraving is engaging with the puzzle—sharing in the delights and questions of the imagination alongside Dürer.
Looking prompt: Where does your eye go first when you look at this image?
When giving tours, I love hearing the variety of responses. Some viewers notice the tiny baby angel, while others are drawn to the comet streaking across the background. Still, others focus on the expression on the larger winged figure’s face.
The intricate details in this composition are intentionally cluttered, emphasizing the theme of puzzlement and the struggle to find meaning in one’s thoughts and the surrounding world.
Details Explained:
Magic Square: The sums of the numbers in each row, column, and both main diagonals are identical. In Dürer’s square, the magic number is 34. This may symbolize a reverse of the artist’s age (43) when he created the engraving. Additionally, the numbers could reference his mother’s death on May 17, 1514, as the digits 17, 5, 15, and 14 are all included in the square.
Bell: A still bell hangs above Melancholy's head, with a rope tied to it and extending out of view. The rope could be secured to something unseen or poised to be pulled. The bell might symbolize the unpredictability of death or the sudden arrival of an idea.
Hourglass: A timeless symbol of life and time, the sand falling through the hourglass is one of the few elements in motion within this image. Alongside the bell and the magic square, the hourglass underscores the inevitability of death, even though the exact moment remains unknown.
Scale: The scales hang in perfect balance because they are empty. Extending the themes of death and time seen elsewhere in the image, the scales may symbolize the anticipation of judgment, perhaps weighing the artist’s soul. They are also tools of measurement, but like the other tools depicted, the scales remain unused, further emphasizing the notions of stasis, melancholy, and depression.
Ladder: Like the bell’s rope, the ladder extends beyond the viewer’s sight. Another unused tool among the many depicted, the ladder may symbolize the unknown “heights” an artist could aspire to reach in their lifetime. This focus on ambition and legacy might itself be a source of melancholia.
Comet: A bright comet streaks across the sky, unnoticed by either Melancholy or the young angel. This could symbolize the brilliance and genius an artist might squander when consumed by melancholia. Like melancholia itself, comets carry a dual symbolism—they can signify either good fortune or a curse, reflecting the complex nature of the artist's emotional and creative struggles.
Rainbow: Both ends of the rainbow disappear out of view. Although rainbows are typically symbols of hope and positivity, the presence of the comet and the shrieking bat in the same sky complicates its interpretation, leaving its meaning ambiguous.
Starving Dog: A sleeping, emaciated dog lies curled on the ground near the unused tools. The dog may symbolize an artist’s unwavering loyalty to their craft, even when the pursuit of beauty leads to suffering. Its visible bones highlight Dürer’s mastery in depicting texture and proportion. This engraving, along with one of Dürer’s most famous works, Rhinoceros, reflects his deep interest in both human and animal anatomy.
Geometric Forms: The sphere and large polyhedron reflect Dürer’s fascination with geometry, one of the seven essential liberal arts. A scholar as well as an artist, Dürer authored books on geometry and human anatomy. His profound knowledge of science, mathematics, and art has earned him the title “da Vinci of the Northern Renaissance” among many historians.
Chipped Mill Stone: The young angel, or putto, sits atop a millstone. Like the other tools in the image, the millstone remains unused. Additionally, a small chip in the edge of the wheel highlights that even if it were in motion, it would be ineffective, as grain would slip through the crack and be wasted.
Putto: This small, winged child contrasts with the large, winged figure of Melancholy in nearly every way. Puttos, akin to cherubs, can symbolize love, mischief, or divine messages. Some interpret the putto as a representation of a young artist who, unburdened by the weight of their genius, is eagerly engaged in the act of creation. The putto’s position atop the chipped millstone may suggest that while the young artist is working, their creativity and efforts resemble an ineffective tool.
Large Winged Figure: Occupying almost half of the space, a large figure sits holding a compass. Her head rests in her hands, and her expression is complex—perhaps she is tired, bored, sad, or lost in deep thought. Before Dürer’s work, visual representations of melancholy were primarily found in medical or philosophical texts, often depicted as a gloomy elderly man or a husband and wife lazily sleeping, associated with Sloth, one of the seven deadly sins. In contrast, Dürer bases his figure on Geometry; during his time, it was common to represent the liberal arts as muses. Geometry was often depicted as a wealthy woman dressed in fine clothing, holding a compass. Art historian Erwin Panofsky describes Dürer’s Melancholy as, “super-awake; her fixed stare is one of intent though fruitless searching. She is inactive not because she is too lazy to work but because work has become meaningless to her; her energy is paralyzed not by sleep but by thought.”
View this artwork in person at the LSU Museum of Art, on display in the exhibition Rembrandt, Goya, and Dürer: The Marvel of Old Masters until February 2, 2025. Curated by Leigh Hendry and organized by Carole Sorell, The Marvel of Old Masters is generously loaned by the Park West Foundation.
Blog post written by Callie Smith, PhD (LSUMOA Educator and Programs Manager)
Reference: The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer by Erwin Panofsky (1955, Princeton University Press)