The Peasant and His Wife at Market

"The Peasant and His Wife at Market," created by the master printmaker Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) in 1519, is a significant example of Northern Renaissance graphic art. Executed through the precise technique of engraving in black on ivory laid paper, this work showcases Dürer’s profound technical skill. The minute control he exerted over the burin allowed him to render textures—from the rough fabric of the peasants' clothes to the subtle shadows defining their faces—with extraordinary detail and tonal depth.

Produced in Germany during a period characterized by burgeoning Reformation ideas and increased attention to social realism, the work offers a straightforward depiction of early sixteenth-century life. The subject focuses on a common genre scene, capturing two figures in rustic attire engaged in a presumably mundane interaction at a market. Unlike the idealized figures often found in Renaissance painting, Dürer portrays these individuals with strong, individualized features and expressions, reflecting the artist’s commitment to observational realism in his vast body of prints.

This piece stands as a testament to the artist’s legacy, demonstrating how graphic mediums, such as the engraving technique he perfected, could disseminate complex imagery to a wider European audience than traditional painting. Dürer’s influence fundamentally shaped the trajectory of printmaking in Germany and beyond. An important artifact of the early sixteenth century, this finely preserved impression of The Peasant and His Wife at Market is housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.