Lucretia, formerly described as Agnes Dürer, the artist's wife

Lucretia, formerly described as Agnes Dürer, the artist's wife, is a significant piece of metalwork created by Albrecht Dürer in 1508. This rare surviving object, rendered meticulously in lead, showcases the German Renaissance master's technical versatility across different media. Although Dürer is universally renowned for his influential paintings and comprehensive body of prints, he periodically experimented with medallic art and small-scale sculpture, applying his rigorous understanding of human form and classical proportions to this durable, three-dimensional classification.

The subject is the Roman matron Lucretia, a figure celebrated in the Renaissance tradition as an exemplar of tragic virtue whose suicide spurred the transition from monarchy to republic in Rome. Her former identification as Agnes Dürer, the artist's spouse, has been revised by modern scholarship, which recognizes the classical visual language and narrative elements inherent in the depiction. Created during a period when Dürer was deeply engaged with Italian humanist ideals and antiquity, the work reflects the widespread artistic desire to merge Northern realism with idealized Southern forms.

This piece is particularly valuable as documentation of Dürer’s involvement in metalwork and preliminary design during a time often focused on his graphic output. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds this work in its collection, preserving its important historical context. While the artist’s famous engravings and woodcuts are widely reproduced as fine art prints today, often accessible within the public domain, this lead relief offers a specialized insight into the less common facets of Dürer’s prolific production year.