German painter, draftsman, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance,
Albrecht Dürer
was born,
May 21, 1471,
in the Franconian city of Nuremberg.
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Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe when he was in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in communication with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 he was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.
A brilliant artist, Dürer, created paintings and drawings of the highest quality and made major contributions to the development of printmaking, particularly engraving.
He has also been credited with inventing the basic principle of ray tracing, a technique used in modern computer graphics.
The vast body of work includes engravings, his preferred technique in his later prints, altarpieces, portraits and self-portraits, watercolours and books.
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So here’s a glimpse of this extremely versatile artist work
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“What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things..”
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“Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it. Thus, beauty lies even in humble, perhaps ugly things, and the ideal, which bypasses or improves on nature, may not be truly beautiful in the end.”
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“Love and delight are better teachers than compulsion.”
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“Painting is a nail to which I fasAnd since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art.”
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“From this [drawing], the treasure secretly gathered in your heart will become evident through your creative work.”
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“He that would be a painter must have a natural turn thereto. Love and delight therein are better of the Art of Painting than compulsion.”
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“No single man can be taken as a model for a perfect figure, for no man lives on earth who is endowed with the whole of beauty.”
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“If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.”
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“I hold that the perfection of form and beauty is contained in the sum of all men.”
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“As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art.”
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“Some think that they know everybody, but they really don’t know themselves.”
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“The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion.”
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“The new art must be based upon science – in particular, upon mathematics, as the most exact, logical, and graphically constructive of the sciences.”
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“There is no man on earth who can give a final judgment on what the most beautiful shape may be. Only God knows.”
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“Why has God given me such magnificent talent? It is a curse as well as a great blessing.”
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“But I shall let the little I have learnt go forth into the day in order that someone better than I may guess the truth, and in his work may prove and rebuke my error. At this I shall rejoice that I was yet a means whereby this truth has come to light.”
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“Art is embedded in nature and they who can extract it, have it.”
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“My father suffered much and toiled painfully all his life, for he had no resources other than the proceeds of his trade from which to support himself and his wife and family.”
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“An artist of understanding and experience can show more of his great power and art in small things roughly and rudely done, than many another in a great work. A man may often draw something with his pen on a half sheet of paper in one day… and it shall be fuller of art and better than another’s great work whereon he hath spent a whole year’s careful labor.”
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Deo Gratias
Johannes Ockeghem
Huelgas Ensemble • Paul Van Nevel
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For more information on Dürer:
https://www.albrecht-durer.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/durr/hd_durr.htm
https://www.wikiart.org/en/albrecht-durer
Marina Kanavaki 
The realism he achieved in the portraits is incredible. The nature paintings looked like photographs. Why have I never heard of this artist?
Incredible talent indeed and so versatile! Looking at his paintings (as well as other master painters of that era) I wonder how much has painting progressed! Rhetoric of course because we haven’t added a grain since! So glad I introduced him to you, my dear Liz! 🤗😘
It does blow my mind that that the painters of that time were able to achieve so much realism and emotion in their work with relatively simple materials.
Oh yes… not to mention that they would make the pigments to work with. If they were fortunate enough to have rich patrons, they’d get better quality!
“Melencolia” appears in some American secondary math textbooks because of the magic square in the upper right. The sum of the numbers in every row, column, and diagonal is 34. It’s true for opposite pairs of half-diagonals, too, like 2, 8, 9, 15. It’s also true of the four numbers in each corner quadrant, like 16, 3, 10, 5, and also the central quadrant of 10, 11, 7, 6. It works for the four corner numbers, too: 16, 13, 1, 4.
I didn’t know that! That is very interesting indeed! 🙏
Mathematics rules the world!
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It is great and worthwhile to have reviewed this. Thank you, Marina!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo 🎼🎨🍷
Awww… thank YOU, dahling!
Many hugs and kisses your way!
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Back at you! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
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This tributes section is glorious. Beautifully done. I hadnt seen a lot of these paintings, especially the botanical and naturalistic ones. Durer of course was another master.
I’m glad you’re enjoying these. I feel we sometimes need a reminder of all the great artists that walked on this planet. To me they are the true ‘rebels’! 😉
My early blogs were all odes and tributes. I figured that’s what I’d do on the blog and then maybe sell my books too. But you’ve done it very well, my friend. Cheers!
Odes and tributes are always a good thing to go back to, and you did well and I hope you sold well too! 😉🙂
I think I stopped with the odes after Willie Mays. As for my books, nada.:):):)
If there’s one thing (a couple actually) I learned from my wp years is that 1. Plans don’t work and 2. Posts I never thought would be popular, were and vice versa! So, I’ve stopped planning and go with what makes me happy! 😉 That said, I believe you should promote your books more and I’d love to read more tributes! 🙂
True. I have no commercial instincts. But maybe I should work on it. As for tributes, there are so many! All the great and exceptional artists through history, country western singers, jazz performers, comedians. I once did one on sports announcers. You’re doing a great job on the artists. 🙂
Us artists rarely have commercial instincts, but that’s okay… We’re rich in other ways! 😉
True. But my father always said: “Rich or poor, it’s good to have money”.
…and there’s an old saying here: “Better to be rich and healthy, than poor and sick!” 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
That ain’t bad either. Cheers!
😉 😂🤣
Ditto what I said the first time around. These posts are just beautiful.
Ah, thank you and thank you again, my friend!
1400’s!
It’s mind boggling how far back sophisticates art and music go.
Odd… there’s like 2 sides to humans; arts & wars!
What talent this artist had. 😀 The Hare (also Her – a) is my absolute fave!
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Amazing isn’t it? And yes, hare snd hedgehog!!!!
Hera sends slobbery kisses!!!!! (She’s just had her grooming and is so happy!)
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S..LOL …bbery kisses!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Yes!!!!! 🐾😘🐾😘🐾🥰🥰🥰
I’ve only ever noticed Dürer’s realistic flora and fauna depictions, so I’d forgotten his era and the Da Vinci connection. Thanks for putting him in his rightful place for me! The self-portrait at the top is mesmerizing 🙂
I agree with you on the top self portrait. With these tributes I find it very interesting how I see and learn things I had missed… or least of all re-appreciate their work. I’m so glad you enjoyed this. 🙂
I was obsessed with Durer when I was at art college. Initially to study his use of line. But I’m his nature studies have influenced my choice of subject for photography
Oh, I can understand that… very hard not to! Thank you for visiting, Crispina! 🙂
You can thank Dale for that. She directed me there:)
Oh, I will do that… I already have lots to thank her for! She’s a remarkable girl and a wonderful friend. 🤗🙂
Yea, I’ll second that 🙂 (Dale, hope your ears are burning)
😉 🙂
Again a wonderful introduction, Marina. What a fantastic talent he possessed. And his quotes are rather quotable, too (Stole one for my file 😉 )
Love the music – Must put it aside for Sunday morning coffee…
Pretty quotable, yes!
Amazing talent and so versatile…
On the music… Composers of that time made heavenly music. Imho, that was the peak of musical creation.
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Yes, indeed.
Very versatile – kinda like YOU
I love the music from that epoch.
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Ah, well… I wish!
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“Head of an old man” is St Jerome, right?
I believe so!
Such a gifted artist and I marvel at the variety of different subjects he painted. I love the hare and the hedgehog. 😍
I’m with you… and I too love that sweet hedgehog! As his talent unfolds one wonders at how broad his talent was!
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I have always been fascinated by Albrecht Durer, especially his connection to other artists of the Renaissance period: Raphael, Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had knowledge of their discussions and correspondence. Happy Birthdya Albrecht!! We still think you are amazing, centuries after your passing!!
Oh, yes we do! Isn’t that amazing?!
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Gorgeous paintings, I have recently become acquainted with this painters artwork and so impressed! Thank you Marina. xoxo
He was an amazingly versatile painter. So glad you enjoyed it! ❤🤗❤🤗❤
He was indeed, gorgeous post Marina ❤️🌷💕🌺
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xoxoxoxoxo
xoxoxo ❤️🌸♥️
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xoxoxo
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I love Albrecht Dürer. I saw a lot of his paintings in the Prado in Madrid, Spain and in the Louvre. I did a post in 2013 using one of his self portraits hanging in the Louvre as the equivalent of a male Mona Lisa: https://wp.me/p1yQyy-1nV.
That was a brilliant post btw and you’re right about it resembling the Mona Lisa pose. Such a versatile painter…
Having the model look right at the viewer was not common back then, and there are still a lot of people who have trouble looking straight into a camera today. There seems to be a weird psyche about portraiture in that way.
That’s a great point…
Love your variety of choice of artists that you bring back to life for us, Marina…
Thank you, my dear Jean-Jacques. I post (or try to) on their birthdays. It’s a revelation to me every time I revisit an artist’s work.
I agree!
Oh, but you do the most wonderful posts on artists, my dearest Rebecca! 😘😘
Those sidelong looks in the portraits are a bit ominous.
They are, aren’t they?!