logo
Log in
EN
IT
FR
DE
ES
logo
EN
IT
FR
DE
ES
artsupp banner
Log in
The resurrection of Lazarus
Portrait of Isabella of Spain
Large still life with lamp on the right
The dream of the wise
Pictorial map of Milan
Interior of a ruined church or temple with figures
The woman (The sphynx)
The world is mostly a madhouse
The sleep of reason produces monsters.
The wave
Opening of the Simplon. Milan International Exhibition 1906
Coria Pirelli
Società Anonima per la incandescenza a gas. Brevetto Aver
Strega liqueur by G. Alberti Benevento - Chiasso.
Barcelona City Hall - 3rd Exhibition of Fine Arts and Artistic Industries
Victor Bicycles, Overman Wheel Co.
Who are the managers - Il Mondo, no. 4, January 26, 1979 (cover)
Albert Camus, The Plague, Paris, Gallimard 1991 (cover)
Exporting Capital - Il Mondo, n. 12, 21 March 1983 (cover)
Kites
Pressured by the Tax Authorities - Il Mondo, issue 13, March 30, 1979 (cover)
The Lira in danger - the World, no. 14, April 4, 1983 (cover)
The resurrection of Lazarus
Portrait of Isabella of Spain
Large still life with lamp on the right
The dream of the wise
Pictorial map of Milan
Interior of a ruined church or temple with figures
The woman (The sphynx)
The world is mostly a madhouse
The sleep of reason produces monsters.
The wave
Opening of the Simplon. Milan International Exhibition 1906
Coria Pirelli
Società Anonima per la incandescenza a gas. Brevetto Aver
Strega liqueur by G. Alberti Benevento - Chiasso.
Barcelona City Hall - 3rd Exhibition of Fine Arts and Artistic Industries
Victor Bicycles, Overman Wheel Co.
Who are the managers - Il Mondo, no. 4, January 26, 1979 (cover)
Albert Camus, The Plague, Paris, Gallimard 1991 (cover)
Exporting Capital - Il Mondo, n. 12, 21 March 1983 (cover)
Kites
Pressured by the Tax Authorities - Il Mondo, issue 13, March 30, 1979 (cover)
The Lira in danger - the World, no. 14, April 4, 1983 (cover)

The dream of the wise

Albrecht Dürer

Displayed in:

Achille Bertarelli Print Collection

Achille Bertarelli Print Collection

Piazza Castello, Milan

Closed today: open tomorrow at 10:00

Verified profile

In this splendid work, the great artist describes a complex scene destined to make one reflect on the vice of idleness and the lasciviousness generated by idleness. In a well-heated room, as suggested by the stove, an elderly man, instead of working, falls asleep on the bench. The demon inspires the vision, which materializes in the classical Venus, recognizable also by the presence of Cupid. The latter is depicted climbing on stilts, a further suggestion to say that in an old man, lasciviousness is not only sinful but also futile. In his refined and complex game of references, the artist puts a ring on Venus's hand, citing a widespread legend told since the 12th century and taken up in the 19th century by Heinrich Heine and Prosper Merimée. According to the story, the devil, hidden in a splendid statue of Venus, would have bound to himself, in a sort of engagement, a young man who, after various adventures, was freed only by a priest and then converted to Christianity. Dürer's monogram is at the bottom right. The Bertarelli Collection owns several engraved works by the great German artist.
Read more

Details

Title: The dream of the wise

Author: Albrecht Dürer

Date: 1498

Technique: Burin

Displayed in: Achille Bertarelli Print Collection

Exhibitions

about the artist

All ongoing and upcoming exhibitions where there are works by

Other works

at Milan

Related Searches

See more