Portrait of Albrecht Dürer

Woodcut, circa 1528/29.

Portrait of Albrecht Dürer; bust-length in profile to left based on the medal by Matthes Gebel; in upper left corner shield with coat-of-arms with Dürer's monogram and the date 1527.

Example of the second state, without typographic text and the coat of arms with date 1527 and Dürer monogram inserted within the open door of the arms.

Formerly attributed to Albrecht Dürer himself, this woodcut is now ascribed to the hand of Erhard Schön (1491-1542). The print is based on the medal by Mathes Gebel. It was probably first issued shortly after Dürer's death in response to demand for portraits of him. Some impression was printed by Hans Glaser in Nuremberg with an additional laudatory poem by the 'Meistersinger' Hans Sachs (1494-1576), which mentions the high esteem in which Dürer is held by princes and lords near and far as well as the importance of his work on artists and craftsmen of the mid-sixteenth century ('Des wardt er bey Fürsten und Herren /Ehrlich gehalten nach und ferren / Und bey all künstlich weckleuten / Die noch sein kunst loben und deuten ); it also incorrectly gives the date of death as 6 May instead of 6 April. Such early impressions of the print are extremely rare. It was reprinted at least eight times during the sixteenth century alone, and there are five recorded copies.

Erhard Schön was born and worked in Nuremberg. After Albrecht Dürer's death in 1528, he was the most prolific woodcut artist in Nuremberg. A follower and imitator of Dürer's style, he was also influenced by Hans Springinklee. He primarily produced woodcuts with large, simple compositions, easy to print in large quantities for the general public, rather than works of particular aesthetic value aimed at the collector's market. He was employed by virtually every printer and "Briefmaler" (producer of loose sheets and minor printed matter) in Nuremberg, and also worked for printers in Bamberg, Vienna, and Lyon. In addition to his early religious works, his woodcuts illustrate mythological and historical subjects, as well as the satirical anticlerical allegories used by the Protestant Reformers, for which he is best known, but which, due to their controversial nature, were not signed.

A fine impression, printed on contemporary laid paper with “Cross on Trimount” watermark (Meder 157, Briquet 1242 la data al 1556), trimmed to the borderline, a repaired print crease on the upper left, otherwise in good condition.

Bibliografia

Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur, n. 156; Hollstein, German engravings, etchings and woodcuts c.1400-1700 (156.II); G. Bartrum, 'Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy', exh. cat., London British Museum, 2002-3, n.12.