Madonna with the Swaddled Infant

Dürer's Madonna with the Swaddled Infant exemplifies the simpler, more austere style that the artist adopted in his later prints. This severity lends itself well to the subject. The seemingly lifeless infant, shown wrapped tightly in a blanket as if mummified, is an allusion to Christ's future death by crucifixion. Dürer's depiction of the infant, combined with the pained expression on Mary's face as she looks down at her child, gives this print its somewhat eerie mood.