Homage to Dürer

Woodcut by Hans Jelinek after a drawing by Albrecht Dürer from 1508 / 1971

An exceptional chiaroscuro woodcut, printed in black and blue, made by the renowned midcentury woodcut artist, Hans Jelinek, after one of Dürer's drawings of a head of an apostle from 1508. The title states "Albertus Dürer delineat MDVIII / HJ sculpt. MCMLXXI" (Dürer designed in 1508 / HJ carved in 197)

Printed on japan paper with some discoloration in the margins. Mounted in a passe-partout with label from its original exhibition at the National Academy of Design's Annual Exhibition. I have been unable to find other impressions of this print in any other public or private collections. It seems to have been a private project by Jelinek intended to honor the greatest master of the woodcut medium.

Image: 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches

Sheet: 12 x 16 1/2 inches

Hans Jelinek (1910-1992) was born in Vienna and studied at the Academy of Applied Art and the University of Vienna. After coming to the United States in 1938, he became a medical illustrator at the University of Virginia. In 1945, he moved to New York, where he was a professor of art at City College for 31 years. Jelinek was famous for his woodcuts, which won many awards, including first prize in the 1943 Artists for Victory National Graphic Art Exhibition for his series on the Czechoslovak town Lidice, and the Pennell Prize of the Library of Congress. His works were shown in museums and galleries around the world, among them the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London--all of which hold several of his works in their permanent collections.