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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.