Albrecht Dürer (German: Albrecht Dürer, May 21, 1471, Nuremberg - April 6, 1528, Nuremberg) - German painter and graphic artist, one of the greatest masters of the Western European Renaissance. Recognized as the largest European master of woodblock printing, who raised it to the level of real art. The first art theorist among Northern European artists, author practical guide in fine and decorative arts at German, who promoted the need for the diversified development of artists. Founder of comparative anthropometry. In addition to the above, he left a noticeable mark on military engineering. The first European artist to write an autobiography.

The future artist was born on May 21, 1471 in Nuremberg, in the family of jeweler Albrecht Dürer, who arrived in this German city from Hungary in the mid-15th century, and Barbara Holper. The Dürers had eighteen children, some, as Dürer the Younger himself wrote, died “in their youth, others when they grew up.” In 1524, only three of the Dürer children were alive - Albrecht, Hans and Endres.

The future artist was the third child and second son in the family. His father, Albrecht Dürer the Elder, literally translated his Hungarian surname Aitoshi (Hungarian Ajtósi, from the name of the village of Aitosh, from the word ajtó - “door.”) into German as Türer; subsequently it was transformed under the influence of Frankish pronunciation and began to be written Dürer. Albrecht Dürer the Younger remembered his mother as a pious woman who lived a difficult life. Perhaps weakened by frequent pregnancies, she was sick a lot. The famous German publisher Anton Koberger became Dürer's godfather.

For some time, the Durers rented half of the house (next to the city central market) from the lawyer and diplomat Johann Pirkheimer. Hence the close acquaintance of two families belonging to different urban classes: the patricians Pirkheimers and the artisans Durers. Dürer the Younger was friends with Johann's son, Willibald, one of the most enlightened people in Germany, all his life. Thanks to him, the artist later entered the circle of humanists in Nuremberg, whose leader was Pirkheimer, and became his own man there.

From 1477 Albrecht attended the Latin school. At first, the father involved his son in working in a jewelry workshop. However, Albrecht wanted to paint. The elder Dürer, despite regretting the time spent training his son, gave in to his requests, and at the age of 15, Albrecht was sent to the workshop of the leading Nuremberg artist of the time, Michael Wolgemut. Durer himself spoke about this in his “Family Chronicle,” which he created at the end of his life, one of the first autobiographies in the history of Western European art.

From Wolgemut, Dürer mastered not only painting, but also wood engraving. Wolgemut, together with his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurf, made engravings for Hartmann Schedel's Book of Chronicles. In the work on the most illustrated book of the 15th century, which experts consider the Book of Chronicles, Wolgemut was helped by his students. One of the engravings for this edition, "Dance of Death", is attributed to Albrecht Dürer.

Studying in 1490 traditionally ended with wanderings (German: Wanderjahre), during which the apprentice learned skills from masters from other areas. Dürer's student trip lasted until 1494. His exact itinerary is unknown, but he traveled to a number of cities in Germany, Switzerland and (according to some researchers) the Netherlands, continuing to improve in the visual arts and processing of materials. In 1492, Dürer stayed in Alsace. He did not have time, as he wished, to see Martin Schongauer, who lived in Colmar, an artist whose work greatly influenced young artist, a renowned master of copper engraving. Schongauer died on February 2, 1491. Dürer was received with honor by the brothers of the deceased (Caspar, Paul, Ludwig), and Albrecht had the opportunity to work for some time in the artist’s studio. Probably with the help of Ludwig Schongauer, he mastered the technique of copper engraving, which at that time was mainly practiced by jewelers. Later, Dürer moved to Basel (presumably before the beginning of 1494), which at that time was one of the centers of printing, to Martin Schongauer's fourth brother, Georg. Around this period, illustrations in a new, previously unusual style appeared in books printed in Basel. The author of these illustrations received from art historians the name “Master of the Bergman Printing House.” After the discovery of the engraved plaque title page for the edition of “Letters of St. Jerome" 1492, signed on the back with the name of Dürer, the works of the "master of the printing house Bergmann" were attributed to him. In Basel, Dürer may have taken part in the creation of the famous woodcuts for Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools (first published in 1494, the artist is credited with 75 engravings for this book). It is believed that in Basel, Dürer worked on engravings for the publication of the comedies of Terence (remained unfinished, out of 139 boards only 13 were cut), “The Knight of Thurn” (45 engravings) and a prayer book (20 engravings). (However, art critic A. Sidorov believed that it was not worth attributing all Basel engravings to Durer).

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The presentation will help to more fully present A. Dürer’s painting “Herbs” and will show that although Dürer painted large, multi-colored paintings for churches, all this did not prevent him from admiring ordinary herbs, unremarkable at a superficial glance. Only such attentive attention to every blade of grass underfoot allows the artist to discover its peculiarity, uniqueness, and discover beauty in the simple for future generations.

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A. DURER “HERBS” The artist Durer painted large multi-color paintings for churches, but all this did not stop him from admiring ordinary, unremarkable, at first glance, herbs. Presentation by teacher primary classes MBOU Lyceum No. 6 of Essentuki Shevchenko N.A.

A. DURER “HERBS” You can slide your finger along the stem, you can get dirty on the sticky milk, and you can cut yourself on the sharp leaf. – Do you remember what grass smells like? Can you imagine the smells of midsummer herbs? – Consider a fragment of “Herbs.” What associations do you have when looking at this piece of nature?

Pay attention to the different illumination: some leaves of grass were hit by a ray of sun, while others were in the shadows. And the artist noticed all this.

Such attentive attention to every blade of grass underfoot allows the artist to discover its peculiarity, uniqueness, and discover beauty in the simple for future generations.

"BIG BUSH OF turf" Watercolor

Albrecht Durer painted many beautiful watercolors. These are mainly landscapes full of lyrical contemplation. Dürer's landscape is romantic - it is a setting for medieval poems full of unexpected adventures. I want to look into these gorges, hide in groves, relax in houses and burgs...

Watercolor "Big Turf Bush" - this is a view from below, as if the artist, and with him the audience, suddenly shrank and found themselves in a world of giant grasses. A small piece of meadow, just one human step long, suddenly became the whole Universe. Yarrow, dandelion and plantain have turned into real giants; their smell, almost imperceptible in ordinary life, turned into an intoxicating aroma.

But to get to these herbs, to be able to touch their tall stems and wide leaves, you need to overcome a strip of freshly dug earth in which your feet will sink. And it is unknown whether this hike will end successfully, or whether the tired tiny traveler will never reach this piece of meadow.

Already during his lifetime, Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528) had a reputation "the great among the greatest" artists of their time not only in their homeland, in Germany, but also abroad. The glory of the outstanding painter, graphic artist and engraver did not fade even after his death. In the history of fine arts, even a special term appeared - "Durrer Renaissance".

In Durer's work with the greatest artistic power and originality embodied a tendency characteristic of German art in the first third of the 16th century - a combination of medieval national traditions with the Renaissance need for rationalistic knowledge and a realistic depiction of the surrounding world. The spiritual intensity of the Reformation era and the balanced beauty of antiquity, skillful sophistication and German simplicity and roughness are reflected in his original style.

From the craft of an engraver to the art of engraving

Dürer was the third of 18 children in the family of gold and silversmith Albrecht Dürer the Elder from Nuremberg. Between 1486 and 1489 he was apprenticed to the engraver Michael Wolgemuth, who collaborated with the major typographer A. Koberger, whose bookstores were scattered throughout Europe.

The parents' desire to make their son an engraver was quite understandable. With the advent of printing, this work turned out to be in great demand and well paid. In Wolgemut's workshop, the aspiring artist studied engraving and drawing techniques, and also, by making copies, became acquainted with examples of European fine art. Here the young man saw the works of the famous German copper engraver Martin Schongauer.

In Dürer’s time, painting, sculpture, and especially graphics were not included, unlike, for example, astronomy or philosophy, among "liberal arts" but were considered a craft. To be accepted into a craft workshop, an artist had to prove his right to be called a master by going around his native country, city after city, and confirming his professional worth with his own products. In 1490 - 1494

Dürer made the journey necessary to receive the title of master. No reliable information about the artist’s route has been preserved. It is assumed that he intended to meet with Schongauer, who, however, died shortly before his arrival. Dürer spent a long time in Basel, commissioned by the publisher-typographer Johann Amerbach to produce engraved* illustrations on wood for the comedies of Terence, “The Knight of Thurn” by Joffrey de la Tour-Landry and “The Ship of Fools” by Sebastian Brant.

Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools, which ridiculed the morals of his contemporaries, was a bestseller in the 1490s. not least thanks to Dürer's illustrations. Apparently, during this final period of apprenticeship, the artist acquired the skills of engraving on copper and became familiar with the technique of etching.

In 1496, Dürer created a series of stunning, intensely dramatic engravings for the Apocalypse. The end of the century has always, and especially in the Middle Ages, been associated in people's minds with the expectation of the imminent end of the world. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were supposed to appear in 1500.

Dürer wrote a whole series self-portraits. One of the most beautiful dates back to 1498, when the artist was 28 years old. Expensive, dandy clothes, a dignified face, an attentive look - this is a Renaissance man who believes in the power intelligence and beauty.

Journey to Italy

At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. Dürer made his first trip to Italy. Watercolor landscapes The artist allows us to reconstruct his route: he traveled through Outsburg and Innsbruck, passed through the Brenner Pass and finally arrived in Venice. Here Dürer met the famous Bellini brothers and Jacopo de Barbari, on whose advice he began to study proportions.

Upon returning from Italy, Dürer opened his own workshop and began selling his engravings himself. In addition, during this period he created several altar paintings to order, for which he chose the form of a triptych in accordance with Dutch and Italian models. It is known that one of the customers was the Nuremberg dignitary Paumgartner, whose sons the artist depicted as knights on the doors depicting St. George and St. Eustathia.

Dürer is not only an outstanding painter and engraver, but also an excellent watercolorist and graphic artist. He left more than 1,000 drawings and watercolors. The artist mainly worked with silver pencil, brush, ink, pen and charcoal. Dürer's watercolor landscapes are strikingly accurate. You can reliably determine the place captured by the artist, establish the time of year and day.

Dürer made most of his watercolor landscape sketches in 1494–1496, especially many during his first trip to Italy. He was 23-25 ​​years old.

The sculptural plasticity of the figures, reminiscent of statues, anticipates the style characteristic of the master’s later works. Among the works of the turn of the century stands out self-portrait, painted by the artist in 1500

Dürer's self-portrait from 1500 is one of the most famous works in world portraiture. On it the artist is not just an accomplished person, but a prophet, a messiah. Its symmetrical frontal composition is reminiscent of medieval depictions of Christ. This painting can be considered as the master’s reflection on the fate of the artist and his place in the world. A wise man, who has gone through a long path of suffering and search, this is the creator in the understanding of the mature Dürer.

The Virgin Mary in Durer's depiction (1503) is more of an ordinary city dweller, a contemporary of the artist, than the canonical image of the Mother of God.

Dürer was apparently perceived by his contemporaries primarily as an engraver. The artist’s creative heritage includes 350 woodcuts, 100 copper engravings and several etchings**. Dürer managed to achieve unity of space and physical volume of the characters and achieved almost photographic accuracy in his engravings.

Dürer's graphic and watercolor works reflected the Renaissance admiration for the beauty of the surrounding world, even in its most “insignificant” forms, combined with German thoroughness and attention to detail. One of the first, emphasizing the independent value of such works, the artist began to date and sign his drawings and sketches. "Herbs"(1503) were drawn by Durer with the precision of a biologist.

Painting "Adam and Eve" was written in 1507 When painting this picture, Dürer showed a very unconventional technique, since it depicts not one whole picture, but two engravings. The picture was painted with oil paints. In terms of size, these engravings were quite bulky and took up a lot of space; their dimensions were 200 m by 80 m. This work was exhibited in national museum Prado. The artist painted a picture specifically for the altar, but, unfortunately, it was never finished.

The painting “Adam and Eve” and its plot were created in the spirit of ancient times. The artist emphasized inspiration during his travels in Italy. The people depicted on the canvas are completely naked, everything is written down to the smallest detail, even their height, they are depicted in their true size. This is very important because according to the Bible, Adam and Eve are the ancestors of humanity, the first people who descended from heaven to earth and gave rise to the race of people.

The Bible says that Adam and Eve had many differences between themselves, which is why the author depicted them separately. But if you look more closely, you can see that the picture is a single whole - Adam is holding the branch, and Eve is holding the fruit that used to hang on it. A snake is drawn nearby, pushing people to pick the sacred fruit. You can also see a plaque in the painting indicating the author and the date the painting was painted.

In 1508 – 1509 Dürer worked on creating one of his best religious works - "Geller's Altar". Unfortunately, the central panel, which belonged to the brush of the artist himself and depicted the Ascension of Mary, has reached us only in a copy. However, from numerous preparatory drawings one can judge what impression this grandiose composition was supposed to make.

Master

By the end of the first decade of the 15th century. the artist gained recognition and material well-being. In 1509, Dürer became a member of the Nuremberg Great Council, which was a privilege for noble citizens. As a master engraver, he has no equal. In 1511, the artist published a series of woodcuts: “Great and Small Passions”, “Life of Mary”, “Apocalypse”.

In 1515 he received an order from Emperor Maximilian and performed allegorical humanistic cycles - "Arc de Triomphe" And "Procession". Dürer was the only artist to whom Maximilian assigned a lifetime annual annuity of 100 florins.

The rhinoceros shocked 16th century Europeans. It was presented to the Pope in 1512 by the Portuguese King Emanuel. The sketch of the monstrous beast made in the port was handed over to Dürer, who quite reliably reproduced the animal in his engraving "Rhinoceros" (1515). The engraving is made on wood. It was this image that had a tremendous influence on art.

Dürer endowed the rhinoceros with fabulous features. For example, on his back you can see another horn. He has a shield in front, and under his muzzle there are legendary armor. Some researchers are confident that these armor are not a figment of the artist’s imagination. Before the rhinoceros was presented to the pope, a whole performance was planned. The rhinoceros had to fight the elephant. It is likely that this armor was put on the animal precisely for this purpose. An eyewitness saw him wearing them and sketched him.

Dürer's creation became famous. It dispersed in large quantities copies Before XVIII century, this image was used in all biology textbooks. Salvador Dali created a sculpture depicting this animal. Dürer's Rhinoceros is still fascinating today. Most likely, the secret lies in the surprise that this unusual picture evokes.

In 1520, Dürer went to the Netherlands to obtain permission to continue paying annuities from the new Emperor Charles V. This trip was a triumph for the artist. Everywhere he received an invariably enthusiastic welcome; he met the most outstanding representatives of the creative elite of that time: artists Luke of Leiden, Jan Provost and Joachim Patinir, writer and philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam. Upon his return, the artist created a whole gallery of paintings and engraving portraits of celebrities of the era, whom he personally met.

The image of an open door on the shield indicates the surname "Dürer". Eagle wings and black skin of a man are symbols often found in southern German heraldry; they were also used by the Nuremberg family of Dürer's mother, Barbara Holper. Dürer was the first artist to create and use his own coat of arms and the famous monogram (a large letter A with a D inscribed in it), and subsequently he had many imitators.

Dürer left not only an artistic, but also a theoretical legacy. In 1523 - 1528 he published his treatises “Guide to Measuring with Compasses and Ruler”, “Four Books on Human Proportions”. Albrecht Durer. " Portrait of an Unknown" (1524)

Among the master's works recent years life, the diptych stands out "Four Apostles"(1526). In this work, the artist managed to combine the ancient ideal of beauty with Gothic severity. The firm and calm faith with which this creation is filled, according to researchers, expresses Dürer’s solidarity with Luther and the Reformation. John, placed in the foreground, was Luther's favorite apostle, and Paul was the undisputed authority of all Protestants. Dürer wrote the diptych “The Four Apostles” two years before his death and presented it as a gift to the Nuremberg City Council.

In the Netherlands, Dürer fell victim to an unknown disease (possibly malaria), from which he suffered for the rest of his life. He reported the symptoms of the disease - including a severely enlarged spleen - in a letter to his doctor. Dürer drew himself pointing to the spleen, in the explanation of the drawing he wrote: “ Where the yellow spot is, and where I point my finger, that’s where it hurts.” Albrecht Dürer died on April 6, 1528 in his homeland in Nuremberg. Willibald Pirkheimer, as promised, composed an epitaph for his beloved friend: “ Under this hill lies what was mortal in Albrecht Dürer.”

"Feast of All Saints"
(Altar Landauer) 1511,
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

"Christ among the Scribes" Thyssen-Bornemisz Collection, 1506, Madrid

"Adam and Eve" 1507, Prado, Madrid (the most beautiful image of Adam and Eve!!)

"Self-portrait" 1493

"Self-portrait" 1500

"Madonna and Pear" 1512, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

"Praying Mary"

Durer expressed the mood of the pre-Reformation era, the eve of powerful social and religious battles, in a series of woodcuts “Apocalypse” (1498), in artistic language which organically merged the techniques of German late Gothic and Italian renaissance art. His second trip to Italy (1505-1507) further strengthened Dürer’s desire for clarity of images and orderliness compositional structures(“Feast of the Rosary”, 1506, National Gallery, Prague; “Portrait of a Young Woman”, Museum of Art, Vienna), a careful study of the proportions of the naked human body (“Adam and Eve”, 1507, Prado, Madrid). At the same time, Dürer did not lose (especially in graphics) the vigilance of observation, subject expressiveness, vitality and expressiveness of images characteristic of the art of late Gothic (cycles of woodcuts “The Great Passion”, circa 1497-1511, “Life of Mary”, circa 1502-1511, “Little Passion”, 1509-1511). The amazing precision of the graphic language, the finest development of light-air relationships, the clarity of line and volume, the most complex philosophical underlying content are distinguished by three “masterful engravings” on copper: “Horseman, Death and the Devil” (1513) - an image of unwavering adherence to duty, perseverance in the face of the trials of fate; as the embodiment of the internal conflict of the restless creative spirit of a person; “Saint Jerome” (1514) is a glorification of humanistic inquisitive research thought.

“Melancholy I” (1514)

"Knight, Death and Devil" 1513

"Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"

"Feast of the Rosary" 1506, National Gallery, Prague

"Saint Jerome" 1521

By this time, Dürer had won an honorable position in his native Nuremberg and gained fame abroad, especially in Italy and the Netherlands (where he traveled in 1520-1521). Dürer was friends with the most prominent humanists in Europe. Among his customers were wealthy burghers, German princes and Emperor Maximilian I himself, for whom he, along with other major German artists, made pen drawings for a prayer book (1515).
In a series of portraits of the 1520s (J. Muffel, 1526, J. Holzschuer, 1526, both in the art gallery, Berlin-Dahlem, etc.), Dürer recreated the type of man of the Renaissance era, imbued with a proud consciousness of the self-worth of his own personality, charged with intense spiritual energy and practical purposefulness. An interesting self-portrait of Albrecht Durer at the age of 26 wearing gloves. The model's hands lying on a pedestal are a well-known technique for creating the illusion of intimacy between the subject and the viewer. Dürer could have learned this visual trick from works such as Leonard's Mona Lisa, which he saw during a trip to Italy. The landscape seen through an open window is a feature common to northern artists such as Jan Van Eyck and Robert Campin. Dürer revolutionized Northern European art by combining the experience of the Netherlands and Italian painting. The versatility of his aspirations was also evident in Dürer’s theoretical works (“Guide to Measuring...”, 1525; “Four Books on Human Proportions,” 1528). Dürer’s artistic quest was completed by the painting “The Four Apostles” (1526, Alte Pinakothek, Munich), which embodies four character-temperaments of people connected by a common humanistic ideal of independent thought, willpower, and perseverance in the struggle for justice and truth.

Ecce Homo (Son of Man)
Around 1495, Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe

"Four Apostles"

"Portrait of Dürer's father at the age of 70" 1497

"Adoration of the Magi" 1504

"Emperor Maximillian I" 1519

"Altar of Paumgartner" 1500-1504

"Seven Sorrows of a Maiden" 1497

"Emperors Charles and Sigismund" 1512

"Portrait of a Young Man" ca. 1504

"Portrait of a Young Venetian Woman" 1505

"Mary and Child with Saint Anne" 1519

"Portrait of a Woman" 1506

"Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuer" 1526

Altar of Yabach, outer side of the left wing "Job suffering humiliation from his wife" Around 1500-1503

"Portrait of an unknown man in a red robe" (St. Sebastian) Around 1499

"Portrait of Oswald Krell" 1499

"Alliance Coat of Arms of the Dure and Holpe Families" 1490

"Portrait of Felicitas Tucher" Diptych, right side 1499

"Portrait of Hans Tucher" Diptych, left side 1499

"Lamentation of Christ"

"Portrait of a man on a green background" 1497

"Portrait of Michael Wolgemut" 1516

"Apostle Philip" 1516

"Madonna with an Apple" 1526

"Grass Bush" 1503

"Mary and Child in front of the Gate Arch" 1494-97

"Portrait of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony"

"Two Musicians"

"Penitent St. Jerome"

"Madonna with the Goldfinch"

"Portrait of Barbara Durer, née Holper" 1490-93

"Portrait of Albrecht Durer" the artist's father 1490-93
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