Albrecht Dürer
~A Renaissance Artist~
Albrecht Dürer's Background
Early Life: Dürer was one of 18 children. He was the 2nd oldest of his siblings. Most of his siblings died in childhood. One of his younger brothers, Hans Dürer, also became a German renaissance painter, illustrator, and engraver. After Albrecht, he was the most talented of the 18 children. Dürer received his first training in his father's workshop as an engraver. He executed his first self-portrait, a drawing in silver point, at the age of 13.
First Apprenticeship: From 1486 to 1490 (when he was 15) Dürer was apprenticed to the Nuremberg painter and woodcut illustrator Michael Wolgemut, following which he went on his bachelor's journey, the route of which is not known but which possibly led him to the Rhineland and to the Netherlands, since influences of early Netherlandish art are reconized in his works.
Some of Dürer's Art
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1497-98)
Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513)
Dürer's First Self Portrait
At the age of 13, Dürer created the earliest self-portrait of an artist at so young an age. Using silverpoint, the features of Dürer with which we are familiar from later self-portraits.
Interesting Facts
- Dürer made his first self portrait at 13 years old.
- He was the most famous print maker in the world.
- Dürer was also a scholar and author.
- He was published works on geometry and perspective, civil defense, and the measurements of the human body.
- In his studies on human theory, Dürer tried to explain idealized beauty as well as ugliness, and differences on human personality and appearance.
- Dürer's woodcuts were mostly religious.
- His engravings focused on Christian subjects and Greek and Roman myths.
Achievements
- Dürer was the court artist for Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian I and his successor, Charles V.
- Albrecht Dürer published over 350 woodcuts and engravings and at least 60 of his oil paintings have survived.
- He was the first writer to describe the concept of artist genius.
- He was the first artist to successfully make a self portrait at 13 years old.
Impact on Today
Sources
Works Cited:
“Albrecht Durer.” Albrecht Dürer. Detroit: Gale, 1998. N. pag. Biography in Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&u=libe79362&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=GALE%7CAAA000079982&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631001942>.
“Albrecht Durer Biography.” Albrecht Durer. N.p., 2002. Web. 10 Mar. 2004. <http://www.albrecht-durer.org/biography.html>.
Hutchison, Jane Campbell. “Albretch Durer.” World Book. Vol. D. N.p.: World Book Inc, 2004. N. pag. Print.