メレンコリアⅠ Melencolia Ⅰめれんこりあ　いち

解説

デューラーの代表作であり、《書斎の聖ヒエロニムス》《騎士と死と悪魔》とあわせて三大銅版画と称されています。「メレンコリア（メランコリー）」という概念は、古代の四大元素説に由来し、人間の四つの気質の内、抑鬱や狂気とむすびつく黒胆汁質(こくたんじゅうしつ)を表します。15世紀には知性や芸術と関連づけられ、デューラーはさらに天文学や数学を援用して当時の学問の総結集のような版画を作り上げました。今なお謎に充ち、卓抜した銅版技術と共に人々を魅了し続けている作品です。 Melencolia I is one of Dürer's most famous works, and it is known alongside St. Jerome in His Study and Knight, Death and Devil as one of the three Meisterstiche, or “master prints.” The concept of Melencolia I (melancholy) is derived from an ancient Greek theory of the four temperaments. In this theory, melancholy was analogous to black bile, which was associated with depression and madness. In the 15th century, melancholy came to be associated with intelligence and the arts, and Dürer added his knowledge of astronomy and mathematics as well, resulting in a print showing the culmination of scholarship. Today, the print is still fully of mystery, and continues to attract people with its excellent copper plate printing technique.