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By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2019
This article is about the German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). He was a contemporary of the Italian Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher and writer.
Both men made a major impact during the Renaissance (literally 'rebirth'), the transition from medieval times to modernity, which brought breaks with the past of every kind and huge cultural, political, economic, scientific and social advances.
In 'The Prince', Machiavelli defined how a 'warrior-prince' should conduct himself as soldier and ruler. Dürer saw himself instead as an 'artist-prince', whose prodigious output of drawings, paintings, etchings, engravings, woodcuts, prints and writings, together with his influence on his many pupils, raised the artistic bar for good. Oh, and he was a mathematician too!
The contrasts abound. 'The Prince' was published with the support of Pope Clement VII, whereas Dürer was a fervent supporter of the Vatican's great opponent, Martin Luther. It was Luther who in 1517 nailed his 95 theses, including a demand for an end to the selling of pardons, to a church door, undermining the Catholic church and establishing Protestantism. It has been said that 'Martin Luther broke Europe in 2 whilst Albrecht Dürer painted it back together'.
Such men had intertwined destinies. Different as they were, they typified the scores of individuals whose insights were so revolutionary that they had a lasting impact on their own countrymen, the rest of Europe and beyond. We'll leave Machiavelli there and look at why Dürer is revered as the most capable German artist of the Renaissance.
Dürer was born, and died, in the German city of Nürnberg, though he was exceptionally well travelled for his era. His father, also Albrecht, was a successful Hungarian-born goldsmith, so his background was privileged. Young Albrecht was the 2nd of 18 children. It was a talented family: two of his younger brothers also won recognition, Hans as an artist and Andreas as a goldsmith like their father.
Albrecht started work at 15 as a draughtsman for his father. Having already seen his son's potential, not least in a superb self-portrait drawn a couple of years earlier, his father swiftly arranged a 3-year apprenticeship with the painter and woodcut illustrator Michael Wolgemut. This heritage and early schooling explain why Dürer never limited himself to oils and watercolours, or even to 2 dimensions.
Dürer's first known painting, made when he was 21, was of his father. He is also known to have made 'Madonna with Musical Angels' at 16. His extensive body of work includes altarpieces and religious works, and he came from a devout family (he painted his father with a rosary). But he had other influences. He was almost 50 when he embraced Luther's ideas, and from then on he was less likely to depict religious subjects in the traditional Catholic manner. There are said to be Gothic influences too, perhaps from the architecture around him, which dated back to the 12th century.
It has been said that to depict himself at 28 looking rather like Jesus Christ was a little cocky, if not blasphemous. He knew he was good.
Dürer travelled. We know he went to Italy at least twice, to what is now the Netherlands (where it seems he caught the malaria that killed him), and to Switzerland, France and Austria. From 1494, when he married at 23, he travelled with his wife. They had no children.
Dürer didn't just teach numerous pupils. He was ready to learn. In Florence he was influenced by the anatomical artistry of Antonio Pollaiuolo, and in Venice by Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini and the graphic artist Jacopo de' Barbari. He was notably influenced by Raphael, whom he met. In the Low Countries he was influenced by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes.
Dürer is renowned for his grasp of proportion and natural movement. He achieved an unprecedented, detailed realism in his work on humans and other animals. He painted beautiful watercolours in Austria. He painted mythological scenes, and was a little eclectic in his treatment of Biblical subjects. Then there are his woodcuts, copper engravings, work in iron, book illustrations, altarpieces and more. He was, and remains, much imitated.
Albrecht Dürer's work has stood the test of time and continues to be much admired.
For unframed prints at a few pounds, go to www.fineartprintsondemand.com/artists/durer/prints.htm, www.printed-editions.com/artist-prints/albrecht-durer/ and www.albrechtdurer.org/prints/. For more information, go to www.durerart.com/Watercolors/Watercolors-Chronology.html.
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Article Posted: 19/12/2019 07:04:38