Albert Dürer was a German artist living and creating works during the Northern Renaissance period. Though he was born and resided primarily in Germany, he pulled and used many techniques found from his travels to Italy during the Italian Renaissance. The Venetian coloring style is evident in his work with deep coloration, and layering of shadows and highlights to give the exquisite detail that the Northern Renaissance painters are known for. He did not simply paint but also created pieces through woodworking, printmaking, engraving as well as writing poetry.
As the Northern Renaissance progressed and the Protestant Reformation began we can see in Dürer’s work, a shift to religion. We can see this change in his works Adam and Eve; Knight, Death, and the Devil; and The Apocalypse. All works fashioned after religious texts.
Figure 1: Dürer, Albrecht. “Self Portrait with Fur Collar.” 1500 AD. http://www.openculture.com/2013/07/the_genius_of_albrecht_durer_revealed_in_four_self-portraits.html
The above piece is a self-portrait completed by Albrecht Dürer thought to be painted during his time in Nuremberg, Germany (Dorbzinski, 2008). During his life, he was one of the first artists to create and keep a chronological set of self portraits. The one shown above was created at the age of 28. At the time, portraits had taken over in the artistic community following the Italian Renaissance introduction of Humanism. However, the portraits that were being done typically depicted the subject in a three-quarter pose, as we see in his earlier Self-Portrait with Gloves. This would allow the artist to use their best features and create a profile which wasn’t as stark as a traditional profile posing. The half frontal pose used by Dürer here is reminiscent of many depictions of Christ at the time. In fact, the frontal aspect and positioning of his hand is identical to the depiction of Christ in Blessing Christ (Hans Memling). Personally, I don’t believe this is an attempt at mockery, but rather Dürer felt his ability and talent was thanks to his faith. Though he did follow Martin Luther in his ideologies of the Church and Reformation, he also continued to maintain his faith.
This is another reason why I enjoy this piece. Not only is the detail exceptional, but the intensity seems to vary within the painting as well. I see a higher intensity on the left side (as viewing) of this portrait and the shading gives a lighter intensity to the right side. Even with this lighter intensity, I believe that it gives a great depth, almost as if you could reach out and feel how soft and textured his coat or hair is. I also love the way that he has differentiated the space within this piece, there is nothing in the background so all of the focus us on himself, and thus his skill in mastering this painting.
Works Cited
Dorbzinski, Judith. “Staring Dürer in the Face. His self-portrait from 1500 dares you to turn away.” 15 March 2008, www.judithdobrzynski.com/3013/staring-durer-in-the-face. Accessed 14 June 2018.
Dürer, Albrecht. Self-Portrait with Fur Collar. 1500. Alte Pinakothek, Munich. www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/self-portrait-durer.htm. Accessed 14 June 2018.
Dürer, Albrecht. Self-Portrait with Gloves. 1498. Museo del Prado.
http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/self-portrait/8417d190-eb9d-4c52-9c89-dcdcd0109b5b. Accessed 15 June 2018.
Knight, Christopher. Martin Luther Broke Europe in Two, and Albrecht Dürer Painted it Back Together. 21 November 2016. Loss Angeles Times.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-luther-reformation-lacma-20161116-htmlstory.html. Accessed 15 June 2018.
Memling, Hans. Christ Blessing. 1481. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, William A. Coolidge Gallery. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/christ-blessing-35484. Accessed 15 June 2018.
Wisse, Jacob. Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528. 2002. Metropolitan Museum of Art. www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/durr/hd_durr.htm. Accessed 15 June 2018
History of the Arts 
Hi Sam! I think this is a beautiful piece of art. As you mentioned in your post, the lighting from the left side of his face creates a lot of dimension and adds texture to this self portrait. I have always found self portraits to be a special sort of beautiful, because to see how an artist sees the world is very cool, but to see an artist as they see themselves… that’s incredible. Especially for these artists who lived and died before photographic captures became relevant, the most raw way that we can see what famous and groundbreaking artists looked like is, often, only through self portrait. I like your analysis of this – and agree with you that the attention to detail is impeccable. Of course, that is pretty common for most art in the renaissance era, as the attention to detail was an important part of renaissance artwork.
Thank you for your post!
-Jean Larson-Rein
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Jean,
I couldn’t agree more. It seems that Albert Dürer had a very high opinion of himself when he created this painting. Not to say that it is a bad thing, however at the the use of this frontal pose was typically reserved for Christ. I am constantly drawn to the detail that he renders within this portrait, however. Perhaps he had every reason to have such a high opinion of himself given his talent and ability.
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I agree with Jean, a beautiful choice in art. His depiction and detail of curly long hair and the short fur trim is perfection. I agree that this Humanistic self-portrait symbolizes his success and his vanity both of his artistic abilities as well as his physical appearance, in my opinion.
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Progressive self-portraits are rare in the art world. Most artist only have one if at all. I wonder what it was that inspired any artist to create a self-portrait as I am certain they were their own worst critics. Also, how many of them may have changed features about themselves. You mentioned the changes you noticed in hos works, did this Carr over into his self portraits in your opinion? He was an exceptionally talented artist but he was also vain. He appears smug in all of his portraits but the detail remains exquisite. Here is a fun play on the similarities between self-portraits throughout history and the new-age selfie.
https://hyperallergic.com/76218/before-the-selfie-the-self-portrait/
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Good Evening,
I personally love artists who will do self portraits. Imagine a person continually behind the brush, creating beauty or emotion for the entire world, but then never being able to see their skill depicting their own likeness? I’m sure that some, like everyone, would touch up a few things they do not like about themselves. Thus, why we have so many filters and editors for our photos these days.
I will agree that he was vain. However within my reading he was not only vain about his hair and appearance but about his technique and art. If someone is vain because they are continually perfecting their craft, then I don’t think that I would slight them too harshly for it.
Thank you for your comment.
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