Masters of Art - Albrecht Dürer

by Dürer, Albrecht

  His second book, entitled “Some Instruction in the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Towns,” appeared in 1527, and was dedicated to Ferdinand I., and adorned with several woodcuts. In this the artist showed the same familiarity with the principles of defensive works as his great contemporaries Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo had done. Much attention is paid to the proper sheltering of heavy artillery from hostile shot; and the plans of the towers and bastions about Nuremberg, which were built after Dürer’s death, were suggested in this work. A large contemporary woodcut by the master shows the siege of a city, with cannon playing from the bastions, and the garrison making a sortie against the enemy.

  The celebrated “Four Books of Human Proportion” was Dürer’s greatest literary work, and was completed about this time, having been begun in 1523. Its preparation was suggested by Pirkheimer, to whom it was dedicated, and who published it after the author’s death, with a long Latin elegy on him. Great labor was bestowed on this work, and many of the original sketches and notes are still preserved. The first and second books show the correct proportions of the human body and its members, according to scale, dividing the body into seven parts, each of which has the same measurement as the head, and then considering it in eighths. The proportions of children are also treated of; and the dogma is formulated, that the woman should be one-eighteenth shorter than the man. The third book is devoted to transposing or changing these proportions, and contains examples of distorted and unsymmetrical figures; and the fourth book treats of foreshortening, and shows the human body in motion. In his preface he says: “Let no one think that I am presumptuous enough to imagine that I have written a wonderful book, or seek to raise myself above others. This be far from me! for I know well that but small and mediocre understanding and art can be found in the following work.”

  The high appreciation in which this book was held appears from the fact that it passed through several German editions, besides three Latin, two Italian, two French, Portuguese, Dutch, and English editions. Most of the original MS. is now in the British Museum.

  Among Dürer’s other works were treatises on Civic Architecture, Music, the Art of Fencing, Landscape-Painting, Colors, Painting, and the Proportions of the Horse.

  But the year 1527 was nearly barren of new art-works; for the master’s hand was losing its power, and his busy brain had grown weary. His constitution was slowly yielding before the fatal advances of a wasting disease, possibly the low fever which he had contracted in Zealand, or it may have been an affection of the lungs. In the latter days he made a memorandum: “Regarding the belongings I have amassed by my own handiwork, I have not had a great chance to become rich, and have had plenty of losses; having lent without being repaid, and my work-people have not reckoned with me; also my agent at Rome died, after using up my property. Half of this loss was thirteen years ago, and I have blamed myself for losses contracted at Venice. Still we have good house-furnishing, clothing, costly things as earthenware [maiolica], professional fittings-up, bed-furnishings, chests, and cabinets; and my stock of colors is worth 100 guldens.”

  The last design of the master was a drawing on gray paper, showing Christ on the Cross. When this was all completed except the face of the Divine sufferer, the artist was summoned by Death, and ascended to behold in glory the features which he had so often portrayed under the thorns.

  A violent attack of his chronic disease prostrated him so far that he was unable to rally; and after a brief illness he passed gently away, on the 6th of April, 1528. It was the anniversary of the day on which Raphael died, eight years before. His friends were startled and grief-stricken at his sudden death, which came so unexpectedly that even Pirkheimer was absent from the city. It was long supposed that he died of the plague, on the evidence of a portrait-drawing of himself, showing him pointing to a discolored plague-spot on his side, and inscribed, “Where my fingers point, there I suffer.” It was said that this sketch was for the information of his doctor, who dared not visit the pestilence-stricken sick-chamber. But this hypothesis is no longer considered tenable.

  The remains of the master were buried in the lot of his father-in-law, Hans Frey, at the Cemetery of St. John, beyond the walls; and his monument bore Pirkheimer’s simple epitaph: “Me. Al. Du. Quicquid Alberti Dureri Mortale Fuit, Sub Hoc Conditur Tumulo. Emigravit VIII Idus Aprilis, MDXXVIII. A.D.”

  On Easter Sunday, 1828, the third centenary of his death, a great procession of artists and scholars from all parts of Germany moved in solemn state from Nuremberg to the grave of Dürer, where they sang hymns.

  In the valley of the Pegnitz, where across broad meadowlands

  Rise the blue Franconian mountains, Nuremberg the ancient stands.

  Quaint old town of toil and traffic, quaint old town of art and song,

  Memories haunt thy pointed gables, like the rooks that round them throng.

  Memories of the Middle Ages, when the emperors rough and bold

  Had their dwelling in thy castle, time-defying, centuries old;

  And thy brave and thrifty burghers boasted, in their uncouth rhyme,

  That their great imperial city stretched its hand through every clime.

  In the courtyard of the castle, bound with many an iron band,

  Stands the mighty linden planted by Queen Cunigunde’s hand;

  On the square the oriel window, where in old heroic days

  Sat the poet Melchior singing Kaiser Maximilian’s praise.

  Everywhere I see around me rise the wondrous world of Art,

  Fountains wrought with richest sculpture standing in the common mart;

  And above cathedral doorways, saints and bishops carved in stone,

  By a former age commissioned as apostles to our own.

  In the church of sainted Sebald sleeps enshrined his holy dust,

  And in bronze the Twelve Apostles guard from age to age their trust:

  In the church of sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare,

  Like the foamy sheaf of fountains, rising through the painted air.

  Here, when Art was still religion, with a simple, reverent heart,

  Lived and labored Albrecht Dürer, the Evangelist of Art;

  Hence in silence and in sorrow, toiling still with busy hand,

  Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the Better Land.

  Emigravit is the inscription on the tombstone where he lies:

  Dead he is not, but departed, for the artist never dies.

  Longfellow.

  Pirkheimer wrote to Ulrich, “Although I have been often tried by the death of those who were dear to me, I think I have never until now experienced such sorrow as the loss of our dearest and best Dürer has caused me. And truly not without cause; for, of all men who were not bound to me by ties of blood, I loved and esteemed him the most, on account of his countless merits and rare integrity. As I know, my dear Ulrich, that you share my sorrow, I do not hesitate to allow it free course in your presence, so that we may consecrate together a just tribute of tears to our dear friend. He has gone from us, our Albert! Let us weep, my dear Ulrich, over the inexorable fate, the miserable lot of man, and the unfeeling cruelty of death. A noble man is snatched away, whilst so many others, worthless and incapable men, enjoy unclouded happiness, and have their years prolonged beyond the ordinary term of man’s life.”

  Pirkheimer died two years after Dürer’s death, and was buried near him. During his last days, and therefore so long after his friend’s decease that the first violence of his emotions had fully subsided, and his mind had become calm, he wrote to Herr Tschertte of Vienna, and gave the following arraignment of the widow Dürer: “Truly I lost in Albert the best friend I ever had in the world, and nothing grieves me so much as to think that he died such an unhappy death; for after the providence of God I can ascribe it to no one but his wife, who so gnawed at his heart, and worried him to such a degree, that he departed from this world sooner than he would otherwise have done. He was dried up like a bu
ndle of straw, and never dared to be in good spirits, or to go out into society. For this bad woman was always anxious, although really she had no cause to be; and she urged him on day and night, and forced him to hard work only for this, — that he might earn money, and leave it to her when he died. For she always feared ruin, as she does still, notwithstanding that Albert has left her property worth about six thousand gulden. But nothing ever satisfied her; and in short she alone was the cause of his death. I have often myself expostulated with her about her suspicious, blameworthy conduct, and have warned her, and told her beforehand what the end of it would be; but I have never met with any thing but ingratitude. For whoever was a friend of her husband’s, and wished him well, to him she was an enemy; which troubled Albert to the highest degree, and brought him at last to his grave. I have not seen her since his death: she will have nothing to do with me, although I have been helpful to her in many things; but one cannot trust her. She is always suspicious of anybody who contradicts her, or does not take her part in all things, and is immediately an enemy. Therefore I would much rather she should keep away from me. She and her sister are not loose characters, but, as I do not doubt, honorable, pious, and very God-fearing women; but one would rather have to do with a light woman who behaved in a friendly manner, than with such a nagging, suspicious, scolding, pious woman, with whom a man can have no peace day or night. We must, however, leave the matter to God, who will be gracious and merciful to our good Albert, for he lived a pious and upright man, and died in a very Christian and blessed manner; therefore we need not fear his salvation. God grant us grace, that we may happily follow him when our time comes!”

  It is said that Raphael, after studying Dürer’s engravings, exclaimed, “Of a truth this man would have surpassed us all if he had had the masterpieces of art constantly before his eyes as we have.” Even so at the present day is it seen, that if Dürer had studied classic art, and imbibed its principles, he might have added a rare beauty to the weird ugliness and solemnity of his designs, and substituted the sweet Graces for the grim Walkyrie. Yet in that case the world would have lost the fascinations of the sad and profound Nuremberg pictures, with their terrific realism and fantastic richness.

  Italy did not disdain to borrow the ideas of the transalpine artist; and even Raphael took the design of his famous picture of “The Entombment” (Lo Spasimo) from Dürer’s picture in “The Great Passion.” Titian borrowed from his “Life of the Virgin” the figure of an old woman, which he introduced in his “Presentation in the Temple.” The Florentine Pontormo copied a whole landscape from one of Dürer’s paintings; and Andrea del Sarto received many direct suggestions from his works.

  “It is very surprising in regard to that man, that in a rude and barbarous age he was the first of the Germans who not only arrived at an exact imitation of nature, but has likewise left no second; being so absolute a master of it in all its parts, — in etching, engraving, statuary, architecture, optics, symmetry, and the rest, — that he had no equal except Michael Angelo Buonarotti, his contemporary and rival; and he left behind him such works as were too much for the life of one man.” — John Andreas.

  In the preface to his Latin translation of “The Four Books of Human Proportion,” the Rector Camerarius says: “Nature gave our Albert a form remarkable for proportion and height, and well suited to the beautiful spirit which it held therein; so that in his case she was not unmindful of the harmony which Hippocrates loves to dwell upon, whereby she assigns a grotesque body to the grotesquely-spirited ape, while she enshrines the noble soul in a befitting temple. He had a graceful hand, brilliant eyes, a nose well-formed, such as the Greeks call Τετράγωνον, the neck a little long, chest full, stomach flat, hips well-knit, and legs straight. As to his fingers, you would have said that you never saw any thing more graceful. Such, moreover, was the charm of his language, that listeners were always sorry when he had finished speaking.

  “He did not devote himself to the study of literature, though he was in a great measure master of what it conveys, especially of natural science and mathematics. He was well acquainted with the principal facts of these sciences, and could apply them as well as set them forth in words: witness his treatises on geometry, in which there is nothing to be desired that I can find, at least so far as he has undertaken to treat the subject.... But Nature had especially designed him for painting, which study he embraced with all his might, and was never tired of considering the works and methods of celebrated painters, and learning from them all that commended itself to him.... If he had a fault it was this: that he worked with too untiring industry, and practised a degree of severity towards himself that he often carried beyond bounds.”

  A LIST OF ALBERT DÜRER’S CHIEF PAINTINGS

  NOW IN EXISTENCE, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR EXECUTION, AND THEIR PRESENT LOCATIONS.

  * * *The interrogation-mark is annexed to the titles of certain paintings which two or more critics regard as of doubtful authenticity.

  GERMANY.

  Nuremberg. — Germanic Museum, — Emperor Maximilian; Burgomaster Holzschuher, 1526. St. Maurice Gallery, — Pietà; Ecce Homo. Rath-Haus, — Emperor Sigismund(?); Charlemagne(?).

  Munich Pinakothek. — Baumgärtner Altar-piece, 1513; Suicide of Lucretia, 1518; Albert Dürer, 1500; Oswald Krell, 1499; Michael Wohlgemuth, 1516; Albert Dürer the Elder, 1497; the Nativity; Sts. Paul and Mark, 1526; Sts. Peter and John, 1526; a Knight in Armor(?); Sts. Joachim and Joseph, 1523; St. Simeon and Bishop Lazarus, 1523; Death of the Virgin; a Young Man, 1500; Pietà(?); Mater Dolorosa.

  Dresden Museum. — Christ Bearing the Cross; the Crucifixion; a Hare; Lucas van Leyden; Madonna and Saints (?).

  Cologne. — Museum, — Drummer and Piper; Madonna (?). Church of Sta. Maria im Capitol, — Death of the Virgin.

  Frankfort. — Municipal Gallery, — Two portraits. Städel Institute, — Catherine Fürleger; Albert Dürer the Elder.

  Cassel. — Friedrich Museum, — The Passion. Bellevue, — Erasmus of Rotterdam.

  Pommersfelden. — Jacob Müffel.

  Lustschena (Baron Speck). — A Young Lady.

  Aschaffenburg. — Albert Dürer.

  Augsburg. — Two Masques. Several others in the Castle of Stolzenfels.

  AUSTRIA.

  Vienna. — Belvedere, — Emperor Maximilian, 1519; Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Christians, 1508; Madonna, 1506; Adoration of the Magi, 1504; Madonna, 1503; Adoration of the Holy Trinity, 1511; Madonna; Young Man, 1507; Johann Kleeberger, 1526; and others not definitely authenticated. The Albertina, — Emperor Maximilian, Green Passion, and 160 drawings. Czernin Palace, — Portrait. The old Ambraser, Lichtenstein, and Von Lamberg collections included four portraits and two religious pictures. St. Wolfgang’s Church, Upper Austria, — Death of the Virgin.

  Pesth. — Christ on the Cross.

  Prague. — Strahow Abbey, — The Feast of Rose Garlands.

  NORTHERN EUROPE.

  St. Petersburg. — Hermitage Palace, — Christ Led to Calvary; Christ Bearing the Cross; the Elector of Saxony.

  Hague Museum. — Two portraits.

  Belœil (Prince de Ligne), — Two pictures.

  Basle Museum (Switzerland). — Two pictures.

  Coire Cathedral, — Christ Bearing the Cross.

  ITALY.

  Florence. — Uffizi Gallery, — Adoration of the Magi, 1504; Madonna, 1526; Dürer’s Father, 1490; Apostle Philip, 1516; St. James the Great, 1516; Albert Dürer, 1498; Ecce Homo (?); Nativity (?); Pietà (?). Pitti Palace, — Adam and Eve (replica).

  Rome. — Barberini Palace, — Christ among the Doctors, 1506. Borghese Palace, — Louis VI. of Bavaria; Pirkheimer, 1505; and five pictures of dubious authenticity. Corsini Palace, — A Hare; Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg. Doria Palace, — St. Eustace (?); Ecce Homo (?). Sciarra-Colonna Palace, — Death of the Virgin.

  Milan. — Casa Trivulzi, — Ecce Homo, 1514. Ambrosiana, — Coronation of the Virgin, 1510. Bergamo Academy, — Christ Bearing the Cross. Brescia Ga
llery, — Drawings.

  Venice. — Manfrini Palace, — Adoration of the Shepherds; Holy Family.

  Naples. — Santangelo, — Garland-Bearer, 1508. Museum, — Nativity, 1512. Villafranca Palace, — Christ on the Cross.

  SPAIN.

  Madrid. — Museum, — Albert Dürer, 1498; Dürer’s Father; Adam and Eve. Marquis of Salamanca, — Altar-piece, a Passion scene.

  FRANCE.

  Besançon Museum, — Christ on the Cross. Lyons, — Madonna and Child Giving Roses to Maximilian (?).

  GREAT BRITAIN.

  National Gallery, — A Senator, 1514. Stafford House, Death of the Virgin. Hampton-Court Palace, — Young Man, 1506; St. Jerome (?). Buckingham Palace, — Virgin and Child. Rev. J. F. Russell, — Crucifixion; Christ’s Farewell to Mary (?). Thirlestaine House, — Maximilian. Kensington Palace, — Young Man. New Battle House, — Madonna and Angels. Belvoir Castle, — Portrait. Sion House, — Dürer’s Father. Mr. Wynn Ellis, London, — Catherine Fürleger; Virgin and Child. FitzWilliam Museum, Cambridge, — Annunciation (?). Windsor Castle, — Pirkheimer. Bath House, — Man in Armor. Howard Castle, — Vulcan; Adam and Eve; Abraham and Isaac.

  * * *The latest of the lists of Dürer’s paintings, compiled by Mr. W. B. Scott in 1870, enumerates the following collections, long since dispersed, with the dates when they were cataloged: 11 pictures at Aix, in 1822; 2 at Anspach, 1816; 5 at Augsburg, 1822; 10 at Bamberg, 1821; 2 at Banz, 1814; 4 at Berlin, 1822; 3 at Blankenberg, 1817; 3 at Bologna, 1730; 3 at Breslau, 1741; 6 at Brussels, 1811. Many of these cannot now be located, the collections having been broken up.

  A LIST OF DÜRER’S WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

  Bible Subjects. — Cain Killing Abel; Samson Slaying the Lion; Adoration of the Magi, 1511; the Last Supper, 1523; the Mount of Olives; Pilate Showing Christ to the Jews; the Sudarium; Ecce Homo; the Crucifixion, 1510; the Crucifixion, 1516; Calvary; the Crucifixion; Christ on the Cross, with Angels; the Trinity, 1511; the Holy Family, 1511; the Holy Family with a Guitar, 1511; the Holy Family, 1526; the Holy Family in a Chamber; the Virgin with the Swaddled Child; the Virgin Crowned by Angels, 1518; the Holy Family with Three Rabbits.