Durer, Albrecht (1471-1528) - 1506 Christ Among the Doctors (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid)
Dürer is the greatest exponent of Northern European Renaissance art. While an important painter, in his own day Dürer was renowned foremost for his graphic works. Artists across Europe admired and copied Dürer's innovative and powerful prints, ranging from religious and mythological scenes, to maps and exotic animals. Technically, Dürer's prints are exemplary for their detail and precision. The son of a goldsmith, Dürer was trained as a metalworker at a young age. He applied the same meticulous, exacting methods required in this delicate work to his woodcuts and engravings.
He went to Italy in 1494, and again in 1505-6. Contact with Italian painters resonated deeply in his art. Influenced by Venetian artists, who were renowned for the richness of their palette. Dürer was a great admirer of Leonardo da Vinci. He was intrigued by his studies of the human figure, and after 1506 applied and adapted Leonardo's proportions to his own figures. In the 1520's, he illustrated and wrote theoretical treatises instructing artists in perspective and proportion. More than simply producing works for his own time, Dürer saw his fame and his contribution as enduring, and as part of history.
Durer, Albrecht (1471-1528) - 1506 Christ Among the Doctors (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid)
Dürer is the greatest exponent of Northern European Renaissance art. While an important painter, in his own day Dürer was renowned foremost for his graphic works. Artists across Europe admired and copied Dürer's innovative and powerful prints, ranging from religious and mythological scenes, to maps and exotic animals. Technically, Dürer's prints are exemplary for their detail and precision. The son of a goldsmith, Dürer was trained as a metalworker at a young age. He applied the same meticulous, exacting methods required in this delicate work to his woodcuts and engravings.
He went to Italy in 1494, and again in 1505-6. Contact with Italian painters resonated deeply in his art. Influenced by Venetian artists, who were renowned for the richness of their palette. Dürer was a great admirer of Leonardo da Vinci. He was intrigued by his studies of the human figure, and after 1506 applied and adapted Leonardo's proportions to his own figures. In the 1520's, he illustrated and wrote theoretical treatises instructing artists in perspective and proportion. More than simply producing works for his own time, Dürer saw his fame and his contribution as enduring, and as part of history.