The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

The Virgin and Child with a Monkey

The Virgin and Child with a Monkey

c. 1498
(German, 1471–1528)
Image: 19 x 7.9 cm (7 1/2 x 3 1/8 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Meder 30a
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The monkey portrayed here can be identified as a Barbary macaque, which the artist may have seen as part of a zoological collection in Germany.

Description

Catholic theology during the Renaissance taught the Virgin Mary as a woman born without original sin, an idea manifested in botanical and zoological symbols. Albrecht Dürer portrayed the Virgin and Christ child within a garden enclosed by a low wood gate. Mary gazes down at her son, who holds a bird with his left hand, a symbol of the souls he
will save through his Crucifixion. The tamed monkey, chained to the fence, is an accurate zoological study (probably a Barbary macaque) with a theological role: associated with bodily pleasure, it shows the power of Mary’s virtue over Eve’s sin.
  • ?–1964
    (William H. Schab Gallery, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    February 22, 1964–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 107 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 107 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 124 archive.org
  • Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023).
    Dürer’s Women: Images of Devotion and Desire. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 28, 2014).
    CMA, 1996: "Landscape in Detail," September 10-November 3, 1996, no catalogue
    Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
    Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981).
    Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).
    Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=The Virgin and Child with a Monkey|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=c. 1498|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.29