Albrecht Durer: Catalyst of the Northern Renaissance

When one thinks of the Renaissance, usually what comes to mind is the Italians or Italy, where artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Sanzio trained, studied, and worked. These artists are based mainly in Southern Europe of course, but what about Northern European countries like Germany? What were the Germans up to and how did this new way of thinking as well as new use of techniques and tools spread up there, to Germany, and other countries? It is believed by many that Albrecht Durer was the main catalyst and one of the most important contributors for the Northern Renaissance. Many artists visited Italy at the time of the Italian Renassaince, but Durer seemed to be someone who completely embraced the ideas that were being introduced and instantly started incorporating techniques and ideas in to his work. His passion for the rebirth of the arts and his craft in general made him one of the greatest, most notable artists of his period.

Durer was a German artist with many talents including printmaking, painting, engraving, and goldsmithing. He was born in Germany on May 21st, 1471 to his father, who was a goldsmith. In turn, Durer was taught the ways of metal working as an early teenager. However, though his metal work was indeed good, he would later be known for his wood carving prints and paintings more so than his metal work. Around the age of fifteen, his father saw that Durer was particularly good at drawing compared to his metal work. Even though he would have rather seen his son continue working as a goldsmith, he let Durer fall into apprenticeship under Michael Wolgemut, a German painter and printmaker, to develop these skills he saw in his son. Soon after this apprenticeship, Dur...

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...ction." SUNY Oneonta | Home. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .

Photos

• MacPhail, Catherine. Nemesis: into the Shadows. London: Bloomsbury, 2006. Print.

• "Albrecht Dürer: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (19.73.209) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .

• "Albrecht Dürer: Adam and Eve (19.73.1) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .

• "Self Portrait, Albrecht Durer." Fine Art Prints on Canvas,Giclee Reproductions by Illusions Gallery. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .