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Atfifteenyearsold,Albrechtwantedtobecomeapainterinsteadofagoldsmith,sohisfatherobtainedanapprenticeshipwiththewell-knownpainterandprintmaker,MichaelWolgemut.Inhisstudio,helearnedhowtopreparewoodpanelsandmixoilpaintsthathadrecentlybeeninventedinNorthernEu-rope.Healsoassistedincarvingillustrationsontowoodpanelsforprintmaking.Wood-blockprintmakingoriginatedinChinaaround220ADandNorthernEuropeanartistsreinventedtheartaround1400.Albrechtdrewadesignontothesurfaceofasmoothwoodpanel.Thenhewouldcarveawaythewoodaroundthelines.Blackinkwasrolledontothecarvedoutsurfacethenpressedontopapertomakeaprint.Aftertheinkdried,theillustrationwaspaintedwithwatercolor.Albrechtprobablydidn’trealizeatthetimethathewashelpingWolgemutmakeaparaphrasedBibleandworldhistorybook,calledTheNurembergChronicles,thatwouldlaterbecomefamous.Duringthethreeyearsofhisapprenticeship,Albrechthelpedcarveout645woodpanelillustrations.Whenthebookwasfinallypublishedin1493byAlbrecht’sgodfather,AntonKoberger,1500copiesinLatinand1000copiesinGermanhadbeenprinted.

Albrecht Durer

AlbrechtDurerwasbornintoafamilyofartistsinNurem-berg,Germany,1471.Hebegandrawingatthreeyearsoldandwastrainedasagoldsmithandengraverbyhisfatherwhenhewastwelve.Hedrewhisfirstselfportraitatthirteenyearsoldinsilverpoint;anengravingtechniqueinwhichasilverwireisusedtoscratchthesurfaceofaprimedpaper,makingpermanentthinlines.ThiswasamongthefirstselfportraitsdoneinallofEurope.

13yearsold,1484silverpoint

26yearsold,1498oilonwood

22yearsold,1493oilonwood

28yearsold,1500,oilonwood

ApagefromtheTheNurembergChronicles

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“Art stands firmly fixed in nature,

and he who can find it there, he has it.”

AlbrechtDurer

AlbrechtwasnineteenyearsoldwhenhegraduatedfromhisapprenticeshipandhedecidedtotravelthroughoutGermanyandtheNetherlands.Duringthesewanderingyears,helearnedthatotherartisthadtheirownuniquestyleofartandheexperimentwithnewtechniquesincludingwatercolor.Herecordedelaboratedetailsoflandscapesandanimalsinasketchbookjournal.Hisstylewasdifferentthanothers.Germanspaintedabstractreligiousanddomesticscenes.Buthisdrawingswereveryrealisticandlife-likebecausehedrewfromcareful,scientificobservation. In1495,AlbrechtestablishedhisownstudioinNuremberg.Therehecreatedmanywoodblockprints,engravingsandwatercolorpaintingsandusedtheillustrationsinhissketchbookasareference.Duringthistimeherealizedthathewasfreetoinventhisownstyleofdrawing,paintingandprintmakinganddidnothavetofollowstylisticrulesestablishedbythechurch.Inaddition,hemadeengravingsandwoodblockprintsapopularmediumforfineart.Herevitalizedandimprovedthetechniquebyusingmanytexturallinestocreateshadowsandtheillusionofthreedimensionalform.

Young Hare,1502,watercolor

The Large Piece of Turf,1503,watercolor

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,TheApocalypseSeries,1497-98,engraving

Prints & Paintings

Portrait of Maximillian I,1519,oilonwood

Overthenexteightyearshepaintedthreeotherself-portraits,butheismostfamousforthepaintingcompletedin1500,whenhewas29yearsold.Atthistime,portraitpaintinghadbecomecustomaryandpopularamongwealthypatronsandchurches.ThecentralfigureswerepeopleinBiblestoriesandtherich.Albrecht’sportrait,however,wasadevotionalpaintingtotheLord,basedonThomasKemp’sfa-mousbook,“ImitatioChristi”,whichmeansimitateChristwithourlife.Byposition-inghimselfinaChrist-likepose,heexpresseshisonenesswithChristandelevatesthestatusofartists.Thetrianglecompositiongivestheportraitstrong,stableandpeacefulsymmetricalbalance. Duringthelast28yearsofhislife,hecontinuedtomakebeautifulpaintingsandprints.Hewasthefirstartistinthewesternhemispheretoinventasignaturelogoandincludeitonallofthisartwork.Heprintedtwosetsofbooksforartinstruction.TheFourBooksonMeasurementswasaboutgeometryandperspectiveandwaslaterusedbyGalileoandKepler.InTheFourBooksonHumanProportion,Albrechtwroteessaysonidealbeauty.Histheorywasbasedonvariety.Hebelievedthat,“truthwashiddenwithinnatureandtherewereruleswhichorderedbeauty.”Truly,hisstudyofthenaturalworldgavehimdeepinsightintoGod’sdesign.HebecameknowastheLeonardooftheNorthandhediedasaprinceintheeyesofnobility.

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Take a Closer Look1.LookatLittle Owl,byAlbrechtDurer,1508,watercolor. •Thisisahighlyrepresentationalpaintingofanowlpaintedinwatercolor.WhatelementsofartdidDurerusetomake

thisowllooksorealistic?(Accurateandproportionalshapeofthebodyandfeet,texturelinesinfeathers) •Lookcarefullyanddescribehowhecreatedtheillusionoftexture.(manysmall,finelinesgoinginthedirectionofthe

feathersandwrinklesonthefeet.) •HowdidDurercreatetheillusionthattheowlisathreedimensionalform?(Thewholebodyandfaceisslightlyturned.

Thisiscalleda3/4viewandcausesoneeyetobesmallerandfartherawayfromtheother.Also,onelegispositionedhigherandfartherawaythantheother.Weseethefrontbreastandonewing.Heusedshadowsandshading.)

2.LookatRhinoceros,byAlbrechtDurer,1515,woodblockprint/engraving. •SincerhinosdidnotliveinEurope,andmostpeoplehadneverseenone,theybecamefascinatedwiththisexoticcrea-

ture.Durerneversawarealrhinoceros,butdrewthisillustrationbasedonadetaileddescriptionfromafriend.Durer’sprintedandsoldmanycopiesofthisillustration.Itbecamesopopularthatotherartistsweremakingtheirowndrawings,paintingsandsculpturesbasedonthisoriginal.In2013,acopyofthisprintsoldinanauctionfor$866,500.

•Comparethisprinttoaphotoofarealrhino.Howaccurateisthisillustration? •Chiaroscuroisthearttermthatdescribesthestrongcontrastbetweenlightanddarkareasthathelpcreatetheillusion

ofathreedimensionalobject.WhatartelementsareusedtocreateChiaroscuro?(lines,shapesandpatternsdrawnclosetogetherforshadowsandfarapartoflightareas.)

Practice Making TextureTextureistheillusionofasurfacequalitymadebyrepeatinglines,shapesandcolorswithvariety.Whattypesoflinesandshapesdoyousee?Howdotheyvary?Copythelinesandshapesintotheemptyboxeswithapencilorpen.

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Little Owl,byAlbrechtDurer,1508,watercolor

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Practice PrintmakingSuppliesneeded:Scratch-foamboardscutto4x6inches,blockprintingink,ahardrubberbrayer,disposableplates,newspaper,pencilswithabluntpointandsharppoint,smoothwhitephotocopypapercutto6x9inches.

DrawDurer’sLittle Owl fromobservation.Lookcarefullyatthemainshapesandpracticedrawingthemonapieceofpaperwithasharpenedpencil.

1 2 3 4 5

Whenyou’reready,drawthesameoutlineontheStyrofoamprintingplatewithabluntpencil.Linesshouldbedeep.

6 7 8 9 10

Addlinestorepresenttexture.Useindividuallines,notscribbleorfilledinlines.

Squeezeoutaquartersizeblobofinkontoadisposableplate.

Useabrayertorollouttheinkuntilit’ssmoothandevencoatstheroller.

Rolltheinkontotheprintingplate.

11 12

Theprintingplateshouldbeevenlycov-eredwithink,withtheexceptionofthedrawnlines.

Carefullyplaceasmoothpieceofpaperontopoftheprintingplateandgently,butfirmlypressdowninawipingmotiontotransfertheinkontothepaper.

Gentlypeelthepaperawayfromtheprint-ingplateandmarvelatyourcopy.Noticethatthedrawingisreversed.Didyourpapergetenoughinkortoomuchink?Adjustthequantityandtryagain.Makeasmanycopiesasyouwish.Signyournamebelowtheprintandshare.

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PhotoCreditsAlbrechtDurer,Self Portrait, 28 years old,1500,oilonwood,DoverPublishing.

AlbrechtDurer,Self Portrait, 13 years old,1484,silverpoint,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Self Portrait, 22 years old,1493,oilonvellum,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Self Portrait, 26 years old,1498,oilonwood,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

MichaelWolgemut,WilhelmPleydenwurff,A page from the The Nuremberg Chronicles,1493,woodcutandwater-color,WikimediaCommons,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,TheApocalypseSeries,1497-98,engraving,Wikiart,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Young Hare,1502,watercolor,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Portrait of Maximillian I,1519,oilonwood,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,The Large Piece of Turf,1503,watercolor,Wikipedia,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Rhinoceros,byAlbrechtDurer,1515,woodblockprint/engraving,Wikiart,PublicDomain.

AlbrechtDurer,Little Owl,byAlbrechtDurer,1508,watercolor,Wikiart,PublicDomain.

BibliographyBrocklehurst,Ruth,RosieDickinsandAbigailWheatley.The Usborne Book of Famous Artists.London:UsborneBooks,2011.

Kloss,William.The Great Courses: A History of European Art.Chantilly:TeachingCompany,2005.DVD

Raboff,Ernest.Art for Children Series: Albrecht Durer.NewYork:Harper&Row,1988.

Raczka,Bob.Before They Were Famous: How Seven Artists Got Their Start.Minneapolis:MillbrookPress,2011.

Strickland,Carol.The Annotated Mona Lisa.KansasCity:AndewsMcMeelPublishing,2007.