The Betrothal of the Virgin is the sixth sheet from the popular series ‘The Life of the Virgin’ by Albrecht Dürer. The series consists of 19 woodcuts and a cover page. Dürer created the series in the period from 1502 to 1511, mainly during his second journey to Italy. For the first time, the artist published his woodcuts in the form of a book with inscriptions in Latin in 1511. After Dürer’s death, the plates made by him had been used for six times to reprint his artworks; the last reprint was made in early 17th century.

The series was created using the ancient technique of wood cutting. The artist made a drawing on a polished board and cut the wood on both sides of the lines with a sharp knife, leaving the strokes untouched. Then he used chisels to remove the nonprinting parts and gently put the ink on the relief to make an imprint on wet paper. Along with the author’s image, the print bore the imprint of the wood texture, which was typical for the relief print. Before Dürer, the contour drawing technique was the most popular among the masters of woodcutting. Dürer made the technique more sophisticated by applying a variety of strokes to convey volume, shape, and shades of light.

The series ‘The Life of Mary’ is a poetic story in which reality intertwines with the legend. Dürer mixed the Gospel’s plot and genre engravings, dressed the characters and made them look like people of those times, thus bringing the Bible closer to the cultural environment of the 16th century in Germany. The series gives the impression of an unhurried, detailed story of real events. Dürer paid much attention to interiors, landscapes, and architecture. Since the Gospel does not say much about the life of the Virgin Mary, he had to turn to the Apocrypha, early Christian works that were not included in the canon of the Scripture.
According to those stories, when Mary was three years old the parents took Her to the Temple of the Lord. By the time She was 14, the high priest announced that the virgins who lived at the Temple were to go back to their homes and unite with their intended husbands. Mary said She could not do that as Her parents had devoted Her to God and She herself had vowed to remain a virgin. The Council of Priests decided unanimously to ask God. The voice of God told marriageable men of the House of David bring a branch to the altar; when one of the branches blossomed, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, would mark it with the beak. The owner of that branch would be the husband of Mary.
Among many other men who came to the altar, there was the widower Joseph, though he was reluctant to take a young wife because of his age. But the voice of God insisted and Joseph laid down the branch. After the branch had broken up, he became the husband of the Virgin Mary.