_Albrecht Durer: Self-Portrait _
By: Elizabeth Stamos
Artist and Humanist, Albrecht Durer is one of the most significant figures in
the history f European art outside Italy during the Renaissance (Gowing 195).
Portraying the questioning spirit of the Renaissance, Durer's conviction that
he must examine and explore his own situation through capturing the very
essence of his role as artist and creator, is reflected in the Self-portrait
in a Fur Collared Robe (Strieder 10)With the portrait, Durer's highly
self-conscious approach to his status as an artist coveys his exalted mission
of art more clearly than in any other painting. He seems to be "less concerned
with himself as a person than with himself as an artist, and less with the
artist than with the origin and exalted mission of art itself." (Strieder 13).
In this self-portrait Durer portrays himself in the guise of the Savior.
Durer's natural resemblance to Christ has been reverently amplified
(Hutchinson 67). His bearded face is grave, and fringed by lustrous
shoulder-lenth hair painted in a dark, Christ-like brown (Russell 89. Scholars
have called attention to the fact that, the portrait was intended to portray
Durer as the "thinking" artist through emphasis on the enlarged eyes and the
right hand. Duere's use of the full-face view and almost hypnotic gaze
"emphasizes his belief that the sense of sight is the most noble of the five
senses." He wrote in the Introduction to his Painter's Manual, "For the
noblest of man's senses is sight… Therefore a thing seen is more believable
and long-lasting to us than something we hear" (Hutchison 68) The position
of the right hand held in front of his chest is almost as if in blessing (89
Russell). Joachim Camerarius, a professor who published a Latin translation of
two of Durer's books, wrote of Durer's "intelligent head, his flashing eyes,
his nobly formed nose, his broad chest," and then noted: "But his fingers- you
would vow you had never seen anything more elegant" (Russell 8). Along with
his qualities of mind and eye, the gracefully extended fingers in his
self-portrait portrays his extraordinary "faculty of hand." Camerarius
continued: "What shall I say of the steadiness and exactitude of his hand?
You might swear that rule, square, or compasses had been employed to draw
lines which he, in face, drew with the brush, or very often with pencil or
pen… this consummate artist's mind, endowed with all knowledge and
understanding of the truth… governed and guided his hand and bade it trust to
itself without any other aids… And this was a subject of greatest wonder to
most distinguished painters who, from their own great experience, could
understand the difficulty of the thing" (Russell 8). Symmetrically arranging
his serious, handsome face and mass of shoulder length hair deliberately
invite comparison with the image of Christ. The idealized arrangement and
strict symmetry of the face is based on a construction made up of circle and a
triangle, a formula used down to the Byzantine period for images of the
Redeemer. The frontal pose and symmetrical composition have recurred in many
images of Christ, particularly in the form of the vera icon, or "true image"
(Strieder14) No architectural setting appears within the plain, black
background of the painting (Hutchison 67). The darkened tone and limited but
unified color scheme create a mood of sanctity (Hutchinson 68). The contours
of the face are molded by means of soft light and transparent shadows, almost
in an attempt to fathom the inner depths of Durer's creative spirit (Strieder
147). Set against the dark background, the strong face and chin emanate an
impression of energy from the portrait. Within the background on the
right-hand side, the inscription reads "I Albrecht Durer of Nuremberg painted
myself thus, with undying colors, at the age of twenty-eight years"
(Hutchinson 67). This was a personal verification of the quality of his
materials and his craftsmanship. And he had painted his own image in
everlasting colors, desiring the hand down an "undying image to posterity"
(Strieder 14) Ironically, the self-portrait did more than preserve his
image; it helped foster the popular characterization of Durer as a Christ-like
master, aloof and awe-inspiring. Albrecht Durer believed that his artistic
mission reflected that of Christ. He felt the artist's creative spirit was
God-given, (Russell 89) and saw the ability to create as being innate, "a gift
and labor linking man to God" (Gowing 56). Art comes from God, he says. God
created all forms of art and "the attainment of true, artistic, and lovely
execution in painting is hard to come unto… Whoseoever, therefore, falleth
short cannot attain a right understanding for it cometh alone by inspiration
from above" (Strieder 14) Durer was deeply religious, troubled by rebellions
and abuses he witnessed within the church. Traditional values were beginning
to show signs of breaking down with great religious and social upheavals
(Gowing 56). The artist shared and understood Martin Luther's plea for
religious toleration, and for official recognition of the need for reform.
There is no doubt that Durer's thought and art were affected by the powerful
reforming spirit of the age (Hutchison 164) Albrecht Durer desired to
establish a system of principles that would foster the development of a "True
Art." He wanted to find out all that he could, to obtain a higher knowledge
about everything connected with his art- "how to collect knowledge and pass it
on to others" (Streider 12). To further fulfill his spiritual role, Durer
pledged to write one last instructional book entitled Food for Young Painters
in which he would hand down all his knowledge and experience as his legacy to
those "able young men who love art more than silver and gold" (Russell 161).
His advice for the young painter was "that he be kept from women… and that he
guard himself from all impurity, (for) nothing weakens the understanding more
than impurity." He should be taught "how to read and write well," he should be
taught to pray to God for "The grace of quick perception" (Hutchinson 111).
But the book was never completed before he died suddenly on the sixth of
April, 1528 (Hutchison 110).
_Bibliography _
Works Cited Gowing, L. (1983). The Encyclopedia of Visual Art. (Vol. 10.)
London: Encyclopedia Britannica International. Hutchison, J.C. (1990).
Albrecht Durer: A Biography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Russell, F. (1967). The World of Durer: 1471-1528. New York: Time Inc.
Strieder, P. (1984). The Hidden Masters: Durer. Danbury, Connecticut:
Masterworks Press.
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