Albrecht Durer Contributions to Northern Renaissance
Northern Renaissance in Europe was characterized by humanist thinking, reformation, and intellectual developments. Reformation and individualism had become the chief characteristics of expression in Northern Europe and Albrecht Durer a German painter and master engraver displayed in his paintings many of the aspects that shaped the thinking of Northern European artist. Durer visited Italy in 1494 to 1495 and was introduced to linear perspective, human proportions, and humanistic thinking. Then in 1505 Durer took his second trip to Italy and painted “Feast of the Rose Garlands” for German merchants.
In 1496 Durer began a series called “The Apocalypse,” published in 1498. Durer oversaw the production, design, printing, and publishing of the fifteen large full-page woodcut illustrations. Durer’s self devotion to his projects was contrary to that of an artist of the early renaissance who depended on the wealth of the Popes and the Medici families as a means of reward and appreciation (Gellman, 1998, p. 399). In 1500 Durer’s, painting “Self – Portrait, Munich” suggest a new perception of the awareness of the relationship of an individual with God. Reformation gave individuals an opportunity to study the bible for oneself. “The traditional German--indeed, medieval--view of the artist was as an artisan whose task was humbly, if expertly, to reproduce God’s creations.” Artists would now create paintings as an expression of the bible and other views of the world as they saw it (Cunningham & Reich, 2010, 2006, p. 336).
Durer painted and drew a series of self portraits, traveled, and painted vivid water colors of natural landscapes (Hutchinson, 1999 Edition, p. 14774).
For Albrecht Durer reformation, intellectual developments and humanist thinking were some the driving forces that greatly influenced the subject matter in his paintings and engravings.
References: Cunningham, L. S., & Reich, J. J. (2010, 2006). Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Gellman, L. B. (1998). The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition. Danbury, CT: Grolier Incorporated. Hutchinson, J. C. (1999 Edition). The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book, Incorporated.