DÜRER, ALBRECHT

Dürer, Albrecht: translation

(1471-1528)

Albrecht Dürer stands out from among the Northern artists of his era not only for his mastery but also for the fact that he viewed art as much more than a manual craft and for his own self-image as innovator. While little documentation exists to reconstruct the careers of many of his contemporaries, Dürer left written records of his activities, including a diary and letters. Dürer was the son of a Hungarian goldsmith after whom he was named and who settled in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1455. After receiving training from his father, Dürer entered the studio of Michael Wolgemut (1486) to complete his studies. The

Self-Portraitin silverpoint he created two years earlier, at the age of 13 (Vienna, Albertina), demonstrates that he was a child prodigy. This would be the first among several self-portraits, each presenting the artist in a novel manner. In the 1493 self-portrait in the Louvre, Paris, Dürer presented himself as the bridegroom, theeryngiumflower in his right hand then considered an aphrodisiac. The tasseled headdress Dürer wears refers to the customary binding of tassels by bride and groom to express fidelity. The pricklyeryngium, a symbol of Christ'sPassion, coupled with the inscription above that states that Dürer's affairs are ordained on high, asserts a divine source for his artistic genius. The 1500 self-portrait (Munich, Alte Pinakothek) goes a step further as Dürer presents himself as a frontal Christ-like figure to denote that art comes from the hand of a creator. His art philosophy parallels that ofLeonardo da Vinci, who also likened the creative genius of artists to that of God, the creator of the universe. With this, Dürer paved the way for the humanistic world of the Renaissance to enter the North.

In 1492, Dürer set out to Colmar to work with the engraverMartin Schongauer.By the time he arrived, Schongauer was dead, so Dürer instead worked with the engraver's brother Georg in Basel. There he received a number of commissions for engravings, a field in which he greatly excelled. Among the works he executed were the woodcut frontispiece for theEpistolae Beati Hieronymi(published in 1492 by Nicolaus Kesler), which shows aSt.Jeromeand his lion, and illustrations for an unpublished edition of the comedies of Terence (Basel, Kupferstichkabinett; some question the attribution to Dürer).

In 1494, Dürer returned to Nuremberg to marry Agnes Frey, the daughter of a respected coppersmith—a union arranged by his father. Through his childhood friend, Willibald Pirckheimer, he became acquainted with the city's leading humanists who came to respect not only his artistic but also intellectual abilities. To perfect his skills, Dürer began drawing fromAndrea Mantegna's mythological engravings. One of these drawings, theDeath of Orpheus(1494; Hamburg, Kunsthalle) shows the artist's desire to surpass the Italian master by adding greater contrasts of light and dark, movement, and drama than in the original work. A trip toVenicein 1494 provided further opportunities to study the works of the Italians. The result was a richness of texture and tonality never before seen in prints. Examples include Dürer'sHercules at the Crossroads(c. 1497-1498) andFour Witches(c. 1497), both works exhibitingclassicizedfigures with convincing details of anatomy and areas darkened with heavy crosshatchings to enhance their nude forms. Dürer's famed woodcuts of theApocalypse(1497-1498) are a tour de force of dramatic intensity and action.

By 1496, Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, was granting commissions to Dürer, including theDresdenAltarpiece(c. 1496; Dresden, Kunstsammlungen), a work depicting the Madonna adoring the sleeping Christ Child in a three-quarter format, flanked by architecture, and set against a landscape in the manner ofGiovanni Bellini. He also painted for the Elector theAdoration of the Magi(1504), a work inspired by Leonardo's (1481; bothFlorence, Uffizi) of the same subject. Dürer took a second trip to Italy in 1505-1507, where he informed his friend Pirckheimer in a letter that he was taking lessons inone-point linear perspective. In Venice he painted theRozenkranzMadonna(1505-1506; Prague; National Gallery) for the Church of San Bartolomeo, commissioned by the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the association of German merchants in Venice. While there, he had the opportunity to meet Giovanni Bellini, who by now was very old, as Dürer's letters to Pirckheimer reveal.

Of the paintings Dürer created after his Italian trip, theAdoration of theHoly Trinity(1508-1511; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) is the most impressive. Painted for the chapel in an almshouse in Nuremberg founded by Matthew Landauer, from whom Dürer received the commission, the work borrows fromSt. Augustine'sCity of Godwhere individuals from all ranks of society, here Landauer included, come together to adore the Trinity. Dürer also began work on a theoretical treatise on art soon after his return from Italy, a work he completed in 1523. He also entered in the service of EmperorMaximilian I. Dürer's last major painting commission was theFourApostles(1526; Munich, Alte Pinakothek) for the town council of Nuremberg. The last of his years the artist devoted to his writing efforts. In 1525, he publishedThe Teaching of Measurements with Rule and Compassand, in 1527, he issued an essay onThe Art of Fortificationwhile also working on hisFour Books on Human Proportions. Pirckheimer had this last text published in 1528, after Dürer's death.

Dürer's influence on art was vast. Not only did he influence German masters but also Flemish, French, Spanish, and Italian artists.