Durer's images and techniques have continued to influence artists for more than five centuries. His engravings evolved from a linear style with sharp contrasts of light in the 1490s to a more tonal style after 1500, and by 1513 he attained a mastery of burin engraving that has never been surpassed.

Dancing Peasants dates from 1514, the same year as his most accomplished engravings. In the late 1490s, Durer explored the theme of peasant life, a theme to which he returned. Monumentally plump dancing figures fill the composition. They form a whirling configuration that suggests the motion of the dance.

Source: NEWS October November December 2002