One of Durer’s three master engravings, also known as “Meisterstiche,” this famous art masterpiece personifies moral virtue. Using his own interpretation of Erasmus’s Enchiridion militis Christiani, Durer depicts how Christian soldiers must face 3 “unfair enemies – the flesh, the devil and the world.” As the steadfast knight marches on horseback, a pig like devil follows his trail while snake covered death reminds him of his own mortality by holding up an hour glass. Off into the distance, Durer depicts the world as scraggly mountains and desolate dying forests. Nonetheless, the knight rides on without distraction. Best paired with his other 2 master engravings, Melancholia I and Saint Jerome in His Study which depict theology and intellect, “The Knight, Death and the Devil” looks best in a black frame.
