Dürer's Creation of Melencolia I

Timeline

1. 1514Nuremberg · GermanyDürer completed the Melencolia I copperplate engraving in his Nuremberg workshop; at the center a winged putto holds compasses, surrounded by a polyhedron, scales, an hourglass, and hammer and chisel, with a comet and rainbow in the background, fusing mathematical geometry with astrological allegory.
2. 1514–1520German and European art circles · GermanyThe print circulated across the continent through Dürer's own printing shop and agents, becoming a classic image for interpreting Renaissance science, craft, and the melancholic temperament, and influencing later artists' and scholars' discussions of the nature of creativity.