DÜRER, Albrecht
(b. 1471, Nürnberg, d. 1528, Nürnberg)

Pattern from the Series of Six Knots 2

1505-07
Woodcut
British Museum, London

The series of the so-called Six Knots consist of patterns for embroidery, which were direct copies of Italian engravings from the circle of the Academy of Leonardo da Vinci. Dürer's monogram first appears on later impressions. But his authorship seems to be beyond doubt owing to the note in the Diary of the Journey to the Netherlands. I presented the six knots to Meister Dietrich, Glazier". Presumably they originated during the second journey to Italy (1505-07); early impressions are on Italian paper. The points of differentiation are most easily found in the central shields.

This picture shows a pattern with a small black circle in the centre which is repeated six times.