vince’s ear

Albrecht Dürer was a universal artist with an open minded attitude which was the epitome of what the Renaissance was all about. Energetic, creative, and highly talented he constantly sought out new themes, ideas and techniques. He was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1471, and was a painter, printmaker, mathematician, and overall intellectual. He is probably best known for his prints and engravings which include the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the famous Melencolia I, as well as his series on the Passions of Christ. He was also trained in goldsmith, and was an outstanding watercolorist.

At the age of nineteen Dürer finished an apprenticeship and traveled to Basel, Strasburg, and Vienna as well as to Venice further his academic studies. These trips would introduce him to European perspectives of figurative art, but more importantly let him witness firsthand the height of the splendor of the Italian Renaissance. During his treks he completed a number of excellent landscape drawings and watercolor paintings. On his return to Venice he studied Venetian contemporary painters such as Giovanni Bellini, who he idolized. His first major painting “The Festival of the Rose Gardens,” was meant to rival any Italian painting in its brilliant use of color. At a very young age he was considered to be the leading artist in Nuremberg. His self assurance and confidence is evident is his self portrait of 1500, when he painted himself in the likeness of Jesus Christ, so sure of his place in society, if not just a little cocky.

Like his Italian contemporary Leonardo, Albrecht Dürer was fascinated by the world around him and studied science and nature intensely. Some of his watercolors show a high attention to detail to nature, such as his “A Young Hare,” showing a precise depiction of a rabbit, with every last fur and whisker. He was also a brilliant mathematician, including his knowledge in his works such as Melencholia I showing an order -4 “magic square” mathematical arrangement of numbers. The table gives the sum of 34 in all directions, with the two numbers in the bottom center being 15 and 14, 1514 being the year it was made.

One of Dürer’s favorite subjects is the Madonna. The Mother of God with Baby Jesus, often surrounded by cherubim and angels appears again and again in the artist’s work. In his rendering of the Madonnas and other religious theme, he portrayed his subjects with a beauty which was both ideal and natural at the same time. He would often receive religious commissions for triptychs and altarpieces where he would include portraits of the patrons and donors in the form of saints or pious worshipers. It was not uncommon as well to see a self portrait of the artist in scenes of all types, showing a confident and attractive man who took pride in his appearance.

In his later life Albrecht Dürer attempted to interpret some of the social and religious transformations he had witnessed throughout his wide experience and travels across Europe. Although he had enjoyed success from a young age, in his later years the artist thought he was more unknown and anxiously attempted to make himself noticed again. He began to acknowledge the limits of art and humanity and took a gloomier and embittered outlook of life. He died in 1528 after a successful career, leaving a legacy of influencing many major artists in the years to come.