Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471-1528) Holy Family with a Butterfly (Die Heilige Familie Mit der Henschrecke) (B. 44; M., H. 42), circa 1495, signed with monogram lower middle "AD", collector's stamp verso encircled "Y.W." (L. 2669) and initialed "GW" for Graf Wartenburg, engraving on laid paper with watermark (M. 47), 9-3/8 x 7-1/4 in.; wood frame, 23 x 17 in. - Note: On Dürer's first trip to Italy he derived inspiration from an engraving titled, Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bench by Martin Schongauer (1435/50-1491). The signature on this engraving indicates this was perhaps his earliest signed engraving. - Provenance: H. Gutekunst & F.A.C. Prestel, Frankfurt am Main, May 14-15,1900; Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (1835-1897), sold by C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 2-3 May 1932; M. Knoedler & Co., New York (label verso); Private North Carolina Collection
Condition Report: a Meder b-c impression with burr on monogram, faint parallel marks in sky to sea at right, scratch above the Virgin's head, small cross mark at side of Virgin's head, clear cheek, crisp, richly inked impression, trimmed to plate unevenly, some plate tone at bottom, two printing creases at right, possible restoration on Virgin's forehead, through hairline above head, hinged in