Coat of Arms of the Kress von Kressenstein Family
Sheet: 13 13/16 x 10 15/16 inches (35.08 x 27.78 cm)
Fifty Years of Gifts
to the Print Department, Part 1, 1933-1958: 50th Anniversary Exhibition:
October 23 - November 20, 1983,
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, October
23-November 20, 1983, no. 5, as Coat of Arms of the Family Kress von Kressenstein.
This crest of a wealthy family from Nuremberg, Germany, was once
attributed to the celebrated artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Details like
the band of peacock feathers encircling the two crowns suggest that the print
was created after his death. It was only in 1530 that Emperor Charles V granted
the Kress family this upgrade to their coat of arms. A politically active
family member had helped ensure that Nuremberg remained loyal to the Catholic
king even though many leading citizens had converted to Lutheranism.
[George L. McKenna], The Fifty Years of Gifts to the Print Department, Part 1, 1933-1958: 50th Anniversary Exhibition: October 23 - November 20, 1983, exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1983), no. 5, as Coat of Arms of the Family Kress von Kressenstein.
Architecture and Decorative Arts in Prints from the Permanent Collection, exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1983), p. 3, as Coat of Arms of the Family Kress von Kressenstein, undated. Listed as a work by Durer.
