Albrecht Durer
Albrecht Durer was born in Nurembourg in
May 21, 1471. His father, Albrecht
Durer was a goldsmith, he had come
from Germany to Nurembourg in 1455 and
married Barbara Holper. Barbara's
father was Albrecht's master. Albrecht was his
father's third son. He was
named Albrecht because of a family tradition which he
has been the third
representative so far. Albrecht had three brothers named
Laszlo,
Albrecht, and Ajtos. Albrecht was apprenticed to his father at the age
of 13.
His father introduced him to the working with metal and the use of tools
with
laid the ground work for his skill of engraving. He also learned
painting
from his father at the age of 13. He preferred to draw and paint
than to
goldsmithing. He painted a self portrait of himself at 13. This
self-portrait
took the careful and the accurate work of all of the details to
some him his
artistic talent.- In 1486, Albrecht's father sent him to learn
painting and wood
working from Michael Wolgemut. Michael Wolgemut was a
spectacular painter and
woodcut illustrator. In Michael W.'s busy shop
Albrecht learned the fundamentals
of drawing, painting, and wood cutting.
Albrecht also helped Micheal W. make
some illustrations for books. Michael W.
probably took Albrecht to the
Netherlands, Basel, Stratsbourg, and in
1492 to Colmar in Alsace. Albrecht spent
so much time with him he called him
his second father. His main attraction was
to see the master, Martin
Schongauer. Who at the time was the leading German
graphic artist of the
time. On the way there Albrecht found out the master had
died. On his arrival
Martin's brothers showed him prints, drawings, and
Schongauer's perfect
engraving's from the master's workshop. The prints,
drawings, and engraving's
had a big influence on Albrecht's work. Albrecht then
went to Basel to stay
with another brother of Schongauer, who conducted a
goldsmith workshop there.
Basel was the center of graphic production and book
publishing at the time.
In Basel Albrecht made many contacts and contributed a
signed woodcut for the
title page of the Letters of St. Jerome. The success he
had from this woodcut
probably led to another commission in Basel. In the fall
of 1493, Albrecht
went to Stratsbourg where he continued to work for publishers.
In the end
of May 1494 Albrecht returned to Nurembourg. In July 7, 1494 the 23
year old
painter married Agnes Frey. Agnus was the daughter of a merchant. Not
long
after his marriage in the fall of 1494 he took his first trip to
Italy.
This visit enabled him to see his good friend Willard Pirckheimer
who introduced
Albrecht to humanist thought and classical literature.
Albrecht spent most of
his time of his first trip in Venice, Italy. There he
met Jacopo de'Barbari.
de'Barbari whose figures constructed to geometrical
methods and proportions
inspired Albrecht to live a lifelong study of
theoretical writings. In Venice,
Albrecht made drawings of exotic
figures, animals, and did nature studies. On
the ride home Albrecht made a
abundant use of his water colors painting the
landscape around the Alps.
Albrecht returned to Nurembourg by the summer of
1495. With the return of
his trip he produced a large amount of paintings and
engraving's. Albrecht
used the medium of engraving because that reflected his
theoretical
interests. From about 1500 Albrecht's concern for the problems of
proportion
and perspective increased. This action was probably caused by the
fresh
contacts with the Italian works and study of Vitruvius. In 1502, after a
long
period of weakness Albrecht's father had died. His fathers death had
shaken
him up a tremendously. Soon after that Albrecht suffered from
depression fits
and tormenting dreams.‚ His appetite for work had not been
impaired due to his
father. He continued to work like nothing had happened.
The Adam and Eve
painting in 1504 showed a lot of his techniques of engraving
and the
construction of geometrical methods of male and female figures. The
painting
Paumgartner Altarpiece shows a proportional emphasis on the view
of proportions.
Throughout Albrecht's career he produced portraits of
family, friends and
patrons. Albrecht painted 2 important self-portraits
called Prado Madrid and
Alte Pinakothek, Munich. In 1505, Albrecht drew
Crowned Death on a Thin Horse,
the plague epidemic inspired this painting.
Because of this plague Albrecht
immediately departured from Italy in the
summer of 1505. At the age of 34 he was
fully matured and successful with his
career. After Albrecht stopped in Augsburg
he went to Venice to develop his
painting style. Although many people admired
his paintings they said he was
not as "antique" enough. Only Giovanni
Bellini commended him of his work.
Albrecht's highest achievement at the time
was Feast of the Rose Garlands,
which was ordered by the German merchants in
Venice. In this painting he
combined the richness of Venetian color and the vast
of Italian compositions.
Albrecht returned to his home of Nurembourg in February
1507. A long time
patron, Frederick the Wise entitled him to paint an altarpiece
showing the
execution of 10,000 Christians by a Persian king. Albrecht had
already made a
woodcut of that subject but now he also painted it. For a couple
of more
years he continued to paint requests for people. Albrecht started a
series of
wood cuts of The Life of the Virgin. These were a series of legendary
stories
about the virgin. Albrecht made his wood cuts and figures move easily in
the
third dimension Albrecht's Life of the Virgin series agreed with his
growing
concern for geometric form. In his figures and wood cuts you can see
the perfect
work done with a ruler and compass. You can also see his
admiration with the
Platonic notion of the human figure. Platonic notion
is the human body drawn
with mathematical formulas. In his painting The Fall
of Man Albrecht went
through a hard time trying to achieve a geometrical
figure of two beings known
as man and woman. After many years of practicing
geometrical figures Albrecht
learned how to paint several strands of hair
with just one stroke. Giovanni
Bellini, one of Albrecht's admirer asked
him to make a present of one of his
brushes he draws the strands of hair
with. Bellini was surprised when he saw the
brush. Bellini said that the
brissels must be separated or divided to draw
several strands of hair at
once. Albrecht said that he drew it with a form of
symmetry. In 1505,
Nurembourg was hit with another plague sending bodies down
the street in
carts. In that late summer Albrecht left again to go to Venice.
Albrecht
left his wife behind and his assistants to take care of his shop. This
time
he did not have enough money to go so he had to borrow from Pirckheimer
to
make the journey. He traveled in luxury, this time he went with horses and
a
quantity of baggage that included his portraits he planned to sell.
Albrecht
sold most of his paintings to Italy. In Venice, Albrecht bought a
Italian coat
with the money he got from the paintings. He also took some
dance lessons at a
local school with a fine man he met. Albrecht met many new
friends everywhere he
went. Albrechts only disappointment of the trip was
when he found some gray
hairs on his head. Albrecht wrote to Pirckheimer
saying to take care of his
family and to lend money to his mom if she needed
it. He also included to inform
him to not make love to his wife. Albrecht
also told Perckheimer that he is not
supposed to take drinks or eat from any
of the Venetian painters because they
all try to copy his work and they are
my enemies. In 1509, Albrecht returned
home and was elected as a member of
Nurembourg's Grand Council. This was a group
of 200 men of wealth who
sometimes added to their number fellow citizens who had
distinguished
themselves in other ways. Albrecht's new position did not
interfere with his
artistic production. Back in his workshop he continued to
work on the Fall of
Man engraving. This engraving was the picture of Adam and
Eve standing
with the animals. Albrecht changed his method from geometrical
construction
to the first pair of human beings. The year 1511 was very
extraordinary for
Albrecht. In that one year he published all of his greatest
woodcut series
like The Apocalypse, The Large Passion, and The Life of a Virgin.
In
1513, Albrecht was mainly concentrating on engraving. He made a
charcoal
engraved self-portrait of his mother with a personal, tender
message. Albrecht
was also busy making a huge woodcut Triumphal Procession
and Triumphal Arch. In
July 1520, Albrecht and his wife took a trip to
the Netherlands to see emperor,
Charles V. He also had to find new
markets for his work. Albrecht did not have
good success in the Netherlands
but he did meet fellow artists. Albrecht left
within a year and produced a
number of portrait engraving's in Nurembourg. On
April 6, 1528, the 57
year old died. At his death his theoretical treaties were
not fully
completed. Some of them were already published. According to
Albrecht,
capturing the beauty of the human body is the most meaningful aim
of art. But
this cannot be realized without knowledge of proportion and
anatomy, and only
through geometry can be true beauty be
known.
Bibliography
1. Russell, Francis, The World of Picasso,
Pablo Picasso, Time-Life Books,
1984
2. Brion, Marcel, Picasso,
Pablo Picasso Tudor Publishing Company, 1990
3. Funk and Wagnalls
Encyclopedia/ Volume #8, Page 2906-2907
4. www.grolier.com