Albrecht Dürer

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The year is 1494, the peak of the Renaissance. Art has never been finer. It is a time of extraordinary detail, realistic lighting, and heavy spiritualism framed by an artist’s ability to focus the viewer’s gaze ("Renaissance Art"). Paintings illustrate every hair and are highlighted by an extraordinary understanding of the play between light and dark ("The Background and Characteristics"). Artists utilize techniques to draw the eyes to specific points, magnifying the detail and realism of the paintings ("High Renaissance Painting in Italy"). All are an effort to better represent the divine. In this artistic whirlwind that is the High Renaissance, a young artist by the name of Albrecht Dürer steps into the very heart of the movement, Italy ("Albrecht …show more content…
He uses the High Renaissance’s style and technique to present a very spiritual portrait. The self-portrait itself portrays Albrecht Dürer at the age of twenty-eight. The more significant aspect of his visage is that it also incorporates aspects of Jesus (Krén and Marx). This is in large part due to the more spiritual currents of the High Renaissance era. Another thing to note about the self-portrait is its extreme detail (Smarthistory, Art History at Khan Academy). It is possible to see the individual strands of hair in the self-portrait, giving the portrait an intense realism that was common at the time. The realism is only enhanced by the way Dürer employs an extraordinarily accurate rendition of light and shadow. As the Wall Street Journal states, “The light falls unevenly on him, also highlighting his right side and enhancing the painting's realism” (Dobrzynski). This realistic lighting is characteristic of the High Renaissance era and of other artists of the period. Further following the trends of the High Renaissance, the portrait’s “highly symmetric composition draws attention to the eyes, which gaze directly at the viewer” ("The Genius of Albrecht"). The composure of the portrait mimics other portraits of the time through its ability to focus the gaze of the viewer. Through an intense spiritualism, the definition of the hair, a deep understanding …show more content…
The portrait “is painted in great detail: each wrinkle around her knuckles, each fingernail - even the flexed tendon in her forefinger - is depicted with painstaking accuracy, as is the beauty spot on her right cheek. Almost every strand of fur around the Ermine's right ear is individually replicated” ("Lady with an Ermine"). There is no deficit of detail in this portrait. Likewise, the self-portrait by Dürer is equally detailed, mirroring the trends and traditions of the High Renaissance art movement. Another trend of the High Renaissance found in the portrait is “Leonardo's mastery of chiaroscuro - the use of shadow to enhance the three-dimensional relief of the figure” ("Lady with an Ermine"). Just as Albrecht Dürer strives to make his self-portrait more realistic by using a careful application of light and shadow, Da Vinci too uses lighting to its full effect in an effort to make his portrait more lifelike and realistic. Going beyond just what is seen, “the ermine is included in the portrait for several symbolic reasons” ("Lady with an Ermine"). One of which was to emphasize the purity of the holder. Purity and holiness having overlapping qualities in the Renaissance. Just like Albrecht Dürer wanting to make himself seem more divine by portraying himself as Jesus in his self-portrait, or Titian
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