Dürer << DYUR uhr >>, Albrecht (1471-1528), was the most famous painter and printmaker in the history of German art. He also became famous as a scholar and author. Dürer was the first writer to describe the concept of artistic genius and the first to publish scientific literature in German.
Dürer’s published works include books on geometry and perspective, civil defense, and the measurements of the human body. In his studies on artistic theory, Dürer tried to explain idealized beauty as well as ugliness, and differences in human personality and appearance.
Dürer was born on May 21, 1471, in Nuremberg. Between the ages of 13 and 40, he painted and drew a remarkable series of revealing self-portraits. He also wrote a travel diary and many letters and completed a family history begun by his father. These self-portraits and writings have enabled historians to learn more about Dürer as a person than about any other northern European artist of his day.
Dürer’s most famous oil paintings include Self-Portrait (1500); an altarpiece for the Church of the Germans in Venice, called The Feast of the Rose Garlands (1506); and Four Apostles (1526), which was painted for the Nuremberg city hall. One of his most popular pictures is a brush drawing called Praying Hands (1508), which was a study for part of an altarpiece for a church in Frankfurt (am Main).
Dürer was the first major artist to paint realistic water colors from nature. The best known of his nature studies include several landscapes that Dürer painted in the Austrian Alps and Italian Alps and scenes from the area around Nuremberg.
As a printmaker, Dürer created many woodcuts, most dealing with religious subjects. Some of his engravings portray traditional Christian subject matter. Other engravings picture Greek and Roman myths and allegories. In these prints, Dürer introduced idealized nude figures into German art. Dürer was also one of the first printmakers to experiment with etching. He died on April 6, 1528.
