Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand

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Artist Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)

Title Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (Die Marter der Zehntausend, Marter der Zehntausend von Nikomedien)

Date Ca. 1496

Medium Woodcut on paper

Dimensions Image: 15 5/16 x 11 1/8 in. (38.9 x 28.3 cm)
Sheet: 15 5/16 x 11 1/8 in. (38.9 x 28.3 cm)

Credit Line Museum purchase with funds from Ann Edens Sanderson and Ray Morse Sanderson, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 2007.13

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About this Work

The grisly subject matter of this unusual woodcut has its basis in a legend that enjoyed a brief spell of popularity in the late fifteenth century. According to this tale, the men being sent to their deaths are Roman legionaries who had displeased the emperor by converting to Christianity. The woodcut’s multifigure exploration of male bodies is thought to be among Dürer’s earliest studies of the human form before 1498. It was executed around the same time he was working on the prints for his woodcut Apocalypse—a subject that again evoked the specter of an untimely and gruesome death, but also the possibility of eternal damnation.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Publisher Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)

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"Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2007.13