Virgin and Child with the Monkey (reverse copy)

Description

Virgin and Child with the Monkey (reverse copy) is an undated engraving after Albrecht Dürer. It follows a composition in which the mother and child sit in a landscape, with a monkey providing an unusual companion to the devotional subject. The reverse-copy designation is essential: the image belongs to a version that turns the arrangement of the earlier composition around.

The scene combines the intimacy of the central figures with the interest of an outdoor setting. The monkey introduces a distinctive detail beside the familiar subject of Mary and the infant Christ. Engraved line gives the maker a means of translating figures, clothing and landscape into a single graphic language. This version reflects both the appeal of Dürer’s composition and its continued life through the work of another engraver.