ALBRECHT DÜRER’S PRINTING PAPERS: A Study of Characteristics and Watermarks
Abstract
This study focuses on the papers used for prints by Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528). The papers were documented using visual examination in ultraviolet light, raking light and transmitted light. The aim was to distinguish the papers’ characteristics and condition to provide the preparatory work needed for determining future conservation treatment.
20 prints were chosen for examination through measuring the papers’ chain- and laid lines, locating the watermarks’ orientation in the paper sheets, documenting the watermarks, and assessing the prints’ condition. The approximate manufacture dates of the papers were determined through watermark identification to gain an indication of which prints could have been made during Dürer’s lifetime. Moreover, the documented characteristics were compared between the examined prints to identify which ones are possibly of similar origin. All methods of examination were non-invasive.
The examinations showed that the papers are all high-quality, laid paper in good condition. Ten watermarks were found in fourteen of the prints and indicated that the papers were possibly made between 1471 – 1560 in Augsburg, Prague and Leipzig. Eight of the prints are identified as most likely being produced during Dürer’s lifetime, however, the exact involvement of Dürer himself is not determined. Three prints could be identified as possibly originating from the same copy of a Drei Grossen Bücher produced in 1511.
Since the papers’ approximate manufacture dates were gathered through watermark identification, further research is needed to determine the manufacture dates of the papers where no watermarks are detected. It is recommended, however, that a record of all watermarks in the Dürer print collection is created for future comparative studies.
Degree
Student essay
Other description
Uppsats för avläggande av filosofie kandidatexamen med huvudområdet kulturvård med inriktning
mot konservering
2025, 180 hp
Grundnivå
ISRN GU/KUV 25-06-08
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2025-06-25Author
Nilsson, Amanda
Keywords
Dürer prints, visual examination, watermark identification, paper conservation
Series/Report no.
ISSN 1101-3303 ISRN GU/KUV 25-25-06-08-SE
Language
eng