German portrait. Durer
Dürer's MOST FAMOUS Self-Portrait 1500g Oil on wood. 67; 49 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich "Self-portrait at the age of twenty-eight", "Self-portrait in clothes trimmed with fur"
The self-portrait attracts attention with its similarity with the images of Christ accepted in art at that time - the symmetry of the composition, the colors of dark tones, the full face turn and the hand raised to the middle of the chest, as if in a gesture of blessing. The inscriptions on a black background on both sides of Dürer seem to float in space, emphasizing the symbolism of the portrait.
The light tones of previous self-portraits were replaced by a muted range. In this work, Dürer seems to have approached what the art historian Marcel Brion calls "classicism according to Ingres. A face with the inflexibility and impersonal dignity of a mask that hides the restlessness of upheavals, pain and passion inside.
The apparent symmetry of the picture is somewhat broken: the head is located slightly to the right of the center, strands of hair fall to one side, the gaze is directed to the left.
What was this interesting person and a wonderful artist
Although Dürer considered himself a melancholic, his temperament was not distinguished “neither by gloomy severity, nor by unbearable importance; and he did not at all consider that the sweetness and fun of life were incompatible with honor and decency, ”as Joachim Camerarius wrote .. And indeed, Albrecht’s diaries are full of such entries:“ ... Stübers to Mr. Hans Ebner in the Mirror tavern, etc. Dürer was a frequenter of the then fashionable public baths, where he found his sitters, without wasting extra time persuading him to pose. On one of his engravings (" Men's bath”) Dürer, according to the researchers, portrayed himself as a flutist.
From childhood, Dürer loved music and even tried to play music himself on the lute. He was friends with the musicians and created several of their portraits. In his preface to The Book of Painting, Dürer recommended that young men learning the craft of the artist should be distracted by a short game on musical instruments“in order to warm the blood,” so that melancholy does not take possession of them from excessive exercise. Often Dürer portrayed himself as a musician.
Undoubtedly, Dürer was fascinated by his own reflection in the mirror and considered himself attractive man, which he mentioned in letters to his friend Wilibald Pirckheimer. And nothing speaks so eloquently about this as the self-portraits that Dürer created throughout his life. Even sick and emaciated, Dürer is always beautiful.
Another passion of Dürer was the love of outfits. He spent a lot of money on the purchase of numerous fur coats, brocade, velvet and satin. He preferred a snow-white wams with embroidery and sleeves wide to the elbow and elegant headdresses in Italian fashion. He carefully thought through the combinations of colors and style of his clothes and selected accessories for them. Hairstyle was no less important for Dürer.
A contemporary of the artist, Lorenz Beheim, in a letter complained about Dürer for delays with the commissioned portrait, mentioning "his boy" who terribly dislikes Dürer's beard (its daily curling and styling takes the time required to write a portrait), and therefore "it would be better for him to shave it ".
But gloves for Dürer were not just a fashion accessory designed to protect and decorate hands, gloves were a symbol that marked his chosenness, because his hands were not just beautiful, they were the hands of a genius.
Love for fine things forced Dürer to constantly buy and exchange for engravings more and more acquisitions, which he constantly sent to Nuremberg with whole chests. What was not among Dürer's trophies: Calcutta nuts, an old Turkish scourge, parrots donated by the Portuguese merchant Rodrigo d'Amada, bull horns, an indispensable attribute of the Vanitas vanitatis still life skull, maple wood bowls, optic glasses, dried cuttlefish, large fish scales, a monkey, an elk hoof, smoking pipes, a large tortoise shell and a lot of other stuff. Durer constantly brought into the house objects that were useless for the household. But more than anything else, he, of course, appreciated professional accessories. He spared no expense in buying the best German, Dutch, Italian paper, goose and swan feathers, copper sheets, paints, brushes, silver pencils and engraving tools.
Self-portrait at the age of 13
In the right upper corner the inscription is made: “I painted myself in a mirror in 1484, when I was still a child. Albrecht Durer.
In Germany at the end of the 15th century, self-portraits were not accepted. The 13-year-old Dürer could not see any samples, just as he could not assume that once it was thanks to him in European art such a genre - self-portrait - will be established. With the interest of a naturalist, so characteristic of the Renaissance, Albrecht simply fixed the object that interested him - his own face - and did not try to decorate, heroize or dress up himself (as he would do when he grew up).
Albrecht was then an apprentice to a jeweler - his father.
Self-portrait with bandage, 1491
The following graphic self-portraits of Albrecht Dürer that have come down to us were made in 1491-1493. Their author is a little over twenty. Here, not a silver pencil has already been used, but a pen and ink. And Dürer himself is no longer an apprentice jeweler, but an aspiring artist.
Self-Portrait with a Holly (Self-Portrait with a Thistle), 1493
Self-portrait, 1498
“I wrote this from myself. I was 26 years old. Albrecht Durer.
Between two self-portraits - this and the previous one - only five years passed, and they were very important years biography of Dürer. In these five years, Dürer not only got married, but also became famous, not only matured, but also managed to realize himself great artist, a universal personality, for which the framework has become cramped hometown, because now Dürer needs the whole world. In this self-portrait from the Prado, in the very look of Dürer, in his calm and confident pose and in the way his hands rest on the parapet, there is a special, conscious dignity.
Self-portrait in clothes trimmed with fur (“Self-portrait at the age of 28”, “Self-portrait in a fur coat”), 1500
“Old Dürer, once entering his son’s studio, saw a picture that he had just completed. Christ - so it seemed to the goldsmith, whose eyesight had completely deteriorated. But, looking more closely, he saw before him not Jesus, but his Albrecht. In the portrait his son was dressed in a rich fur coat. A hand with pale fingers, helpless in their thinness, was chillingly pulling her sides. From the gloomy background, as if from non-existence, protruded not just a face - the face of a saint. An unearthly grief froze in his eyes. The inscription is made in small letters: “This is how I painted myself, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, at the age of 28 eternal colors“».
Self-portrait, Albrecht Dürer, 1500 Feast of the Rosary (Rose Wreath Festival), 1506
In the right corner of the altar painting "The Feast of the Rosary", commissioned by the German community in Venice, the artist depicts himself in magnificent attire. In his hands he holds a scroll, which says that Albrecht Dürer completed the painting in five months, although in fact the work on it lasted at least eight: it was important for Dürer to prove to the doubting Italians that he was as good in painting as in engraving.
Altar of Job (Altar of Yabakh). Reconstruction, 1504
The Jabach Altar (sometimes also called the "Job Altar") was probably ordered from Dürer by the Elector Frederick III of Saxony for the castle in Wittenberg to commemorate the end of the plague of 1503.
Dürer portrayed himself as a drummer. In reality, the artist was interested in music, tried to play the lute, but there is something even more undoubtedly Dürer in this image - his inherent extravagance in the choice of clothes. Dürer the drummer depicts himself wearing a black turban and a short orange cape with an unusual cut.
Self-portrait in the nude. Albrecht Durer, 1509
The German philologist and historian of the 16th century, Joachim Camerarius the Elder, wrote an essay on the life and work of the artist for the publication of Dürer's book on proportions.
Camerarius described Dürer's appearance in him as follows: “Nature endowed him with a body that was distinguished by its slenderness and posture and quite corresponding to the noble spirit in it ... He had an expressive face, sparkling eyes, a nose of a noble shape, ... a rather long neck, a very wide chest, a tucked-up stomach , muscular thighs, strong and slender legs. But you'd say you've never seen anything more graceful than his fingers. His speech was so sweet and witty that nothing upset his listeners so much as its ending.
The frankness with which Dürer portrays not someone else's, but his own nakedness, until the twentieth century, remained something unprecedented and so shocking that in many publications this generational self-portrait of Dürer was bashfully cut off at waist level.
Man of Sorrows (Self-portrait), 1522
Here Dürer is 51 years old. He feels like a deep old man.
Self-portrait, 1521
And this self-portrait is not a picture or an engraving, but a visualization of the diagnosis from a letter written by Durer to the doctor from whom he wanted to get a consultation. At the top, an explanation is made: “Where the yellow spot is and where my finger points, it hurts me.”
You can read more about Dürer's self-portraits in Arthive's longread on this topic.
"Self-portrait"- painting by Albrecht Dürer. The smallest of Dürer's three known color self-portraits.
History of creation
On the canvas is the artist's signature: "I wrote this from myself / I was twenty-six years old / Albrecht Dürer (German. Das malt ich nach meiner gestalt / Ich war sex und zwenzig Jor alt / Albrecht Dürer)". Since the artist turned 27 on May 21, it is safe to say that Dürer completed work on his portrait at the beginning of 1498. Dürer was the son of a jeweler who came to Nuremberg from Hungary in the middle of the 15th century. He is one of famous representatives renaissance in Germany. 1498 was an important year for him. This year he published a series of 15 Apocalypse prints. In the same year, he returned from a trip to Italy, in the style of his canvas, the influence of the Venetian and Lombard schools, in particular Giovanni Bellini, is noticeable.
The Artist and the Gentleman
The pose of the artist on the canvas is very calm and confident. He portrayed himself standing, slightly turned to the side, leaning his hand on the ledge. Durer's figure occupies the entire canvas, almost touching the top of the picture with his headdress. His face and neck are illuminated by the light falling into the room, and his long wavy hair is depicted very carefully. Compared to the earlier self-portrait, he has a real beard here, which was an unusual attribute for young men of that time. The clothes of the painter are very refined. His elegant jacket is trimmed in black, underneath he has a white shirt embroidered at the collar. He has a striped headdress on his head, matching the jacket. A light brown cape is thrown over the shoulder, which is held up by a cord wrapped around his neck. On his hands are finely crafted leather gloves.
The room depicts an arch, partly framing the artist's head, and on the right an open window with an exquisite landscape. Green fields run off into the distance to a lake surrounded by trees, and snow-covered mountains are visible behind, probably reminiscent of Dürer's journey through the Alps three years earlier. In Germany at that time, the artist was still regarded as a workman, which was absolutely unacceptable for Dürer. In the self-portrait, he is depicted as an aristocrat, an arrogant and dandy young man.
His fashionable and expensive suit, as well as the mountain range far beyond the window (the distant horizon), indicate that he no longer considers himself a narrow-minded provincial.
Dürer's self-portraits
Dürer was the first Western artist to paint several self-portraits during his lifetime. Thanks to them, you can trace the evolution of the painter. Dürer painted his first self-portrait in 1484 at the age of 13; this engraving on silver is kept in
"Nature endowed him with a body that was distinguished by its slenderness and posture and quite corresponding to the noble spirit in it ... He had an expressive face, sparkling eyes, a noble nose, ... a rather long neck, a very wide chest, a tucked up stomach, muscular thighs, strong and slender legs "But you would say that you have not seen anything more graceful than his fingers. His speech was so sweet and witty that nothing upset his listeners more than its ending."
Joachim Camerarius, contemporary of Dürer
A. Durer. Self-portrait. 1498
1498. Young and dressed up in Italian fashion, already married by this time, the artist, who returned from his trip to Italy, wrote on the wall under the window: “I wrote this from myself. I was 26 years old. Albrecht Durer.
Prado Museum, Madrid
Dürer placed his self-portraits in many paintings, he signed full name almost all of his works, put a monogram on engravings and drawings. sign even major works in those days it was not accepted, because in the era of Dürer, the artist had the status of an artisan, an impersonal executor of orders. Self-portraits for Dürer were just a natural way of self-expression and self-knowledge. In the history of art, they became an important event: they laid the foundation for the existence of a new genre in painting and at the same time served as an impetus for a reassessment of the status of the artist.
These Dürer self-portraits intrigue and fascinate us to this day, because it is incomprehensible how a gloomy mystic, the author of the Apocalypse and the Passion, coexisted in this man with a handsome man and a fashionista, an author of treatises on art with a failed poet and a fortification specialist who dreamed learn to dance?
Meanwhile, Dürer's horoscope, compiled by a contemporary astrologer, described the character of the artist as follows: he is prolific, has an exceptional talent as a painter, he is a successful lover, he is attracted to many women at once; frank and straightforward, loves weapons and travels willingly. He will never fall into poverty, but he will not get rich either. He will have only one wife.
Indeed, Dürer had only one wife, Agnes, he had his own decent house and he loved to travel. At the age of 18 he went on his first trip to Germany, followed by Italy and the Netherlands. He always hesitated to return to Nuremberg. "Oh, how I will freeze without the sun!", - he wrote with bitter regret to his friend Wilibald Pirckheimer. Too many disappointments of Dürer were connected with his native city, but everywhere abroad he was waiting for his unconditional recognition. The rumor about the traveling Dürer was ahead of him, Everywhere he was greeted by admirers with generous gifts, Dürer made new acquaintances, painted coats of arms and painted portraits.
He was incredibly greedy for new experiences, many of which he described in his travel diaries, and then used in his painting. One day he rushed to Zealand to see a whale that had landed on land. This journey ended in failure: Dürer never saw the whale, and he almost died during a storm. On another occasion, he witnessed a festive procession in Antorf. In a noisy accompaniment of drummers and trumpeters, representatives of all classes and professions moved around the city, and behind them “many carts, masked figures on ships and other structures” with wise men, prophets and saints. At the end, a large dragon followed, led by St. Margarita with her maidens; she was extraordinarily beautiful. And in Brussels, Dürer was amazed at the huge bed he saw in the palace of Heinrich von Nassau, which served as amusement for the owner, on which he used to lay up to fifty drunk guests at once. Everywhere Dürer sought out exotic models for himself: either he painted a Negro, or "Negro Katerina", or a rhinoceros, or a "monstrous pig", or conjoined twins.
Dürer was delighted with beautiful things. But the biggest shock was the treasures taken by Cortes from the Golden Country of Mexico, which he saw in the Brussels Palace. Among them were a sun of pure gold a full sazhen wide, the same moon of pure silver, skillfully made weapons and other most skillful things. “And in my entire life I have not seen anything that pleases my heart so much as these things,” Dürer wrote in his diary.
Love for fine things forced Dürer to constantly buy and exchange for engravings more and more acquisitions, which he constantly sent to Nuremberg with whole chests. What was not among Dürer's trophies: Calcutta nuts, an old Turkish scourge, parrots donated by the Portuguese merchant Rodrigo d'Amada, bull horns, an indispensable attribute of the Vanitas vanitatis still life skull, maple wood bowls, optic glasses, dried cuttlefish, large fish scales, a monkey, an elk hoof, smoking pipes, a large tortoise shell and a lot of other stuff. Durer constantly brought into the house objects that were useless for the household. But more than anything else, he, of course, appreciated professional accessories. He spared no expense in buying the best German, Dutch, Italian paper, goose and swan feathers, copper sheets, paints, brushes, silver pencils and engraving tools.
He loved to give gifts and, it seems, loved receiving them no less. The gifts that the admirers sent to their idol sometimes reached unthinkable proportions: sometimes a hundred oysters, sometimes twelve jugs of wine. He gave away engravings, and sometimes paintings, saved up a variety of rarities for gifts to his friends and handed out tips, which, however, he recorded very meticulously in his travel diaries.
Another passion of Dürer was the love of outfits. He spent a lot of money on the purchase of numerous fur coats, brocade, velvet and satin. He preferred a snow-white wams with embroidery and sleeves wide to the elbow and elegant headdresses in Italian fashion. He carefully thought through the combinations of colors and style of his clothes and selected accessories for them. Hairstyle was no less important for Dürer. A contemporary of the artist, Lorenz Beheim, in a letter complained about Dürer for delays with the commissioned portrait, mentioning "his boy" who terribly dislikes Dürer's beard (its daily curling and styling takes the time required to write a portrait), and therefore "it would be better for him to shave it ".
But gloves for Dürer were not just a fashion accessory designed to protect and decorate hands, gloves were a symbol that marked his chosenness, because his hands were not just beautiful, they were the hands of a genius.
The hardness and precision of his hand were legendary. Once in Venice, the famous Italian Giovanni Bellini came to Dürer and asked: "I would like you to give me one of those brushes with which you write hair." Then Albrecht, without any hesitation, handed him different brushes, similar to those used by Bellini, and suggested that he choose the one that he liked best, or, if you like, take all of them. But Bellini expected to see some special brushes. To convince Bellini of the opposite, Albrecht, grabbing one of the usual brushes, skillfully painted long wavy hair, which women usually wear. Bellini watched him in amazement and subsequently admitted to many that he would not have believed anyone in the world who would tell about this if he had not seen it with his own eyes.
Dürer's contemporary, Christoph Scheirl, told how the maids more than once diligently tried to brush off the web painted by Dürer and how Dürer's dog once licked the portrait, mistaking it for the owner.
Although Dürer considered himself a melancholic, his temperament was not distinguished “neither by gloomy severity, nor by unbearable importance; and he did not at all consider that the sweetness and fun of life were incompatible with honor and decency, ”as Joachim Camerarius wrote .. And indeed, Albrecht’s diaries are full of such entries:“ ... Stübers to Mr. Hans Ebner in the Mirror tavern, etc. Dürer was a frequenter of the then fashionable public baths, where he found his sitters, without wasting extra time persuading him to pose. On one of his engravings (“Men's Bath”), Dürer, according to researchers, depicted himself as a flutist.
From childhood, Dürer loved music and even tried to play music himself on the lute. He was friends with the musicians and created several of their portraits. In his preface to The Book of Painting, Dürer recommended that young men learning the craft of the artist should be distracted by a short game of musical instruments “in order to warm the blood”, so that melancholy would not take over from excessive exercise. Often Dürer portrayed himself as a musician.
Undoubtedly, Dürer was fascinated by his own reflection in the mirror and considered himself an attractive man, which he mentioned in letters to his friend Wilibald Pirckheimer. And nothing speaks so eloquently about this as the self-portraits that Dürer created throughout his life. Even sick and emaciated, Dürer is always beautiful.
All his life Dürer obsessively tried to find a beauty formula with a ruler and a compass. In his early treatises on painting, he wrote: “... what is beautiful - I don’t know this ... Nobody but God can judge the beautiful.” But no matter how much time he spent looking for ideal proportions human body, the formula of beauty was known to him in other ways, "inscrutable". After all, it was not in vain that he survived fifteen of his brothers and sisters, and two epidemics of the plague did not touch him with their deadly breath, and Dürer's beauty was evidence of his chosenness and an expression of his own eternal desire for harmony.
The very first self-portrait of the 13-year-old Dürer, which he drew with a silver pencil, being an apprentice with his father, the goldsmith Albrecht Dürer Sr. It says: “It was I who drew myself in the mirror in 1484, when I was still a child. Albrecht Dürer"
3. "Self-portrait with a thistle" (in early New Eastern German this plant was called "marital fidelity") unknown artist. This is the first self-portrait painted in oil, but not on a board, as was customary among German artists at that time, but on parchment glued to canvas. He sent this portrait home, accompanying it with the couplet "My business is going on, as the sky ordered." Self-portrait is in the Louvre
Self-portrait from 1500. The artist painted himself strictly in full face, which was allowed only in the images of Christ. “I, Albrecht Dürer, from Nuremberg, painted myself in such eternal colors at the age of 28,” the inscription reads. Durer's self-identification with Christ in this portrait predetermined the subsequent images of Christ that he created, they always had similarities with the artist himself. The portrait is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich
Adoration of the Magi (1504). The artist depicted himself as one of the Magi. The board is kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
In Venice, in the church of San Bartolomeo, Dürer painted the painting “The Feast of the Rosary”, where, according to custom, Italian masters, placed his image in a conspicuous place: from the depths, an elegant Durer is closely watching the viewer. In his hands he has an unfolded sheet of paper with an inscription in Latin: “I did it in five months. Albrecht Dürer, German, 1506
The painting is kept in National Gallery and Prague
self-portrait,
Year of creation: 1500.
Wood, oil.
Original size: 67×49 cm.
Alte Pinakothek, Munich / Selbstbildnis im Pelzrock, 1500. Öl auf Holz. 67 × 49 cm. Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Self-portrait”
This wonderful picture was kept away from prying eyes for a very long time. The family did not want to show it to the general public. It was written full face, somewhere in 1500. It was an innovation. Previously, portraits were depicted in a semi-profile, in profile. In this form, as Dürer painted, only images related to religion could be depicted. And in our time, this self-portrait is very popular and famous.
"Self-portrait" or in another way it is called "Self-portrait in clothes trimmed with fur" famous painting. It depicts a young man. Not more than 30 years of age. With long wavy hair, beard and mustache. Hair, as if wound before posing on curlers. Lips young man beautiful. The lower part of the lip is slightly plump. A smart look, beautiful but tired eyes, white delicate hands testify to a face similar to Jesus Christ. One of the hands rests on the collar of the dressing gown. This is the artist himself. Dressed in chic rich clothes, a collar trimmed with fur.
On both sides, there are some notes on the picture. Usually, these were done at that time on icons. The similarity of the artist with the appearance of the savior is obvious. The classic thin face, beard and mustache are reminiscent of Jesus.
With his portrait, the artist wanted to show a man of the new time. Compare it to God. He wanted to leave his face in his youth on the canvas. Death should not touch him, he wanted to make a self-portrait for the ages. And he did great at it. The paint should not fade over the years. Such paintings were very characteristic of the era of that time. The artist thus left an unimaginable mark on his appearance for all generations. He achieved what he wanted and what he spoke about to his contemporaries. Proclaimed the ideal of man.
First third XVI century- heyday portrait painting in Germany. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) is undoubtedly the founder of the Renaissance portrait in its "humanist" iconography.
The self-portrait of 1500 is one of the most significant works of Albrecht Dürer, marking his full creative maturity. All elements of naive narrative disappear from this portrait; it does not contain any attributes, details of the situation, nothing secondary, distracting the viewer's attention from the image of a person. The image is based on the desire for generalization of the image, orderliness, external and internal balance.
However, the greatest creative honesty of Dürer and the sincerity that never betrays him make him add a touch of anxiety and anxiety to this image. A slight wrinkle between the eyebrows, concentration and an accentuated seriousness of the expression give the face a touch of subtle sadness. Restless are the full dynamics of the fractionally curly strands of hair framing the face; thin expressive fingers seem to move nervously, sorting through the fur of the collar.
Dürer gave this portrait special meaning. He not only marked it with his monogram, but provided it with a Latin inscription: "I, Albrecht Dürer, a Nuremberger, painted myself in such eternal colors ..." The letters are written in gold paint, they echo the golden flashes in the hair and emphasize the solemnity of the portrait.
Look at this portrait. Do you see Christ? And here it is not. This is a self-portrait German artist Albrecht Dürer 1500. It would seem that for an unheard-of impudence for the beginning of the 16th century, when people were depicted in portraits in half-profile or in profile. What does Dürer want to tell us by this?
Dürer is one of the greatest artists Renaissance, German Leonardo da Vinci. He is one of 18 (!) children of the jeweler. Already at the age of 13, his father trusted him to draw sketches for future jewelry. Dürer is not only a versatile painter: he painted in oils, painted engravings, made stained glass windows. He left many works on mathematics and astrology. And now, a self-portrait in the image of Christ.
Dürer was an ardent Christian. This self-portrait is his crown philosophical reflections about man's place in this world. He puts himself on a par with God, because he, Dürer, is also a creator. And it is the duty of every Christian to become like Jesus Christ.
You can see this self-portrait in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
