Discover the depth and drama in the works of one of Europe’s most ambitious and acclaimed pioneers of print Albrecht Dürer.
From 1 April - 3 August 2025, the Fitzwilliam Museum will present Discovering Dürer, a new free display of over 50 prints by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). It will bring together some of the artist’s most important and recognisable works including Knight, Death and the Devil (1513), St Jerome in his Study (1496), and Melancholia I (1514) for the first time since the completion of a major conservation project of all 374 of Dürer’s prints in the Museum’s collection.
Albrecht Dürer was the first European artist to establish an international reputation for printmaking. The son of a goldsmith, as a young man Dürer learned metal-working techniques, which he developed to create prints with magnificent richness of tone and wondrous detail.
Discovering Dürer will focus primarily on the artist’s renowned engravings, although examples of woodcut, etching and drypoint prints will also feature to reveal the breadth of his extraordinary printmaking practice.
The Fitzwilliam Museum’s significant conservation project, which took four years to complete, included the removal of the linings (pieces of paper stuck to the back of the prints) that were applied when they were last conserved in the 1870s. Conservation techniques also included specialised washing, the repair of tears in the paper, and the replacement of deteriorated mounts preserving the collection for many years to come. These newly conserved prints will offer visitors a unique chance to discover Dürer’s extraordinarily varied mark-making and complex and powerful subject matter.
Luke Syson, Director and Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: “Our utterly glorious collection of engravings by Dürer, one of the greatest printmakers in art history, isn’t as well-known as it should be. Following a major campaign by one of the Museum’s expert conservators, this new display will allow us to appreciate the detail and drama of these remarkable works for the first time in more than a century.”
Lose yourself in the details of these intricate prints and experience a master of their craft – the closer you look, the more you’ll see.
Discovering Dürer: 1 April - 3 August 2025
Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RB
Admission: FREE
Opening Times: Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00-17:00 | Sundays: 12:00-17:00.
Further Information: The Fitzwilliam Museum - Welcome to the Museum