DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49256#0181
It is not our intention to draw up so extensive a catalogue of
Albert Durer’s works, as that of Adam Bartsch or Heller, but
in order to satisfy the curiosity of our readers, we shall point
out the principal pièces which compose the works of one of the
greatest geniuses of Germany-—of a man who was an artist,
an engraver, a sculptor, an architect, a geometrician, and an
author.
PICTURES,
Albert Durer has produced very few oil paintings, owing to
the fact of his time having been occupied by such a variety of
employments ; and it is only in the galleries of the German
sovereigns that a correct idea can be formed of them.
In the Belvidere Palace at Vienna are to be found
seven, well authenticated :—
The Portrait of Maximilian L, dated 1519.
The Martyrdom ofthe 10,000 Christians, who were put to a
cruel death by the command of Sapor II, King of Per sia.
Albert Durer is represented in this picture with his friend,
Willibald Pirckheimer. He is holding a stick with a paper
attached to it, with the inscription, “ Iste faciebat anno
Domini, 1508, Albertus Durer alemanusf with his monogram.
Tbis picture was painted for Frederick, Duke of Saxony; it
afterwards adorned the Rodolph Gallery at Prague. Karel
Van Mander, in his Book on the Pointers, speaks very highly
of it.
The Trinity. God the Father, seated on a rainbow, is re-
presented holding the dying Son on the cross ; the Holy Ghost,
in the shape of a dove, hovers above. It is surrounded by a
glorious company of angels, saints, and patriarchs. Beneath
is seen Albert Durer himself, holding a tablet with his mono-
gram, and this inscription, “ Albertus Durer, noricus, faciebat
anno à Virginis partu, 1511.”
The Virgin of the Pear, signed with his monogram, and
dated 1512.
Portrait of a Fair-haired Youth, dated 1507.
Portrait of Johannes Kleberqer, merchant of Nuremburq,
dated 1526.
The Holy Virgin Suckling the Infant Jésus, painted in 1503.
In THE PlNAKOTHEK OF Munich, some of A'ibert Durer’s
finest paintings are to be seen. This valuable collection, partly
formed from those of Dusseldorf, Mannheim, and Schleisheim,
contains seventeen works of this great master, many portraits,
among others that of Durer’s father, with this inscription in
German, “ I painted this likeness of my father when he was
sixty—Albert Durer, senior.” Dated 1497.
The Portrait of Michael Wohlgemuth, Albert Durer’s master,
dated 1506. Michael was then 82 years of âge.
The Portrait of Albert Durer, dressed in fur, his righthand
placed on his breast, with the inscription,11 Albertus Dureras
noricus ipsum me propriis sic efngebam coloribus œtatis
XXVIII.” Dated 1500.
The Apostles St. Peter, St. John, St. Paul, and St. Mark.
Durer presented these two pictures to the Council of Nurcm-
burg, where they were preserved until the year 1627. By the
desire of Maximilian I. they were conveyed to Munich, and
replaced by copies by Wisscher. These four figures, the size
of life, painted in 1526, are known by the name of the Four
Tempéraments. These two works are exquisite, and mark
the highest degree of perfection to w’hich their author has
attained.
Christ on the Cross—The Descent from the .Cross—The
Weeping Virgin—St. Mary Dying—besides Lucretia in the
act of Stabbing herself, and two small pictures representing
St. Joachim and St. Joseph, painted in 1523, upon a ground of
gold, after the style of the school of the Lower Bhine.
The Public Collection at Nuremberg, established in the
Mansion of the Brotherhood of Landaner, contains only three
of Albert Durer’s pictures, viz., Hercules Fighting with the
Harpies, painted in water-colours in the year 1500, and two
corresponding panels, the one representing Charlemagne, the
other the Emperor Sigismund, both figures larger than life.
The Chapel of St. Maurice contains a painting of The
Dead Body of Christ supported by St. John, and wept over by
the Virgin Mary.
At Prague may be seen, in the Strahlhauer Convent, the
painting which represents the Virgin Croivned by two Angels ;
she is surrounded by persons in an attitude of worship, among
whom may be recognised the artist, his friend Willibald Pirck-
heimer, the Emperor Maximilian I., and Blanche Marie, second
wife of that monarch. This picture, dated 1506, was begun
and finished, according to the inscription upon it, in five months,
and is known by the name of The Painting of the Crown of
Poses.
In the Dresden Gallery there are two pictures by Albert
Durer, one of the Bearing ofthe Cross, in black andwhite, and
a small portrait, dated 1521.
The Gallery of Cassel contains four portraits by this
master.
There are several of his secondary productions in the
Muséums of Frankfort, of Cologne, of Carlsruhe, of Gotha, and
of Darmstadt.
The northern capitals of Europe boast of being in possession
of paintings by Albert Durer. The catalogue of the Impérial
Muséum of St. Petersburg mentions five ; that of the Stock-
holm Gallery, three ; and that of Copenhagen, four ; but we
hâve reason to doubt the authenticity of their pretensions.
There are enumerated in the offic:al catalogue of the Muséum
at Madrid, eight productions of Albert Durer, but they are
either of little importance or doubtful authenticity.
In the Gallery at Florence may be seen, among other
works of this master, the The Adoration of the Magi—very
remarkable ; the busts of The Apostles St. Philip and St. James,
painted, in water-colours, in 1516 ; also the portrait of the
artist’s father, dated 1490, and that of Albert Durer himself,
painted in 1498. These two portraits came from the gallery of
Charles I, King of England.
Neither the Muséum of Berlin, nor the National Gallery of
London, possesses any pictures by Albert Durer. The collection
of pictures at the Louvre, and the Belgian Muséum, are without
a single specimen of this master’s talent.
Albert Durer is always seen to disadvantage in the galleries
of amateurs ; for the compositions they contain are unimportant,
and generally limited to portraits and studies of heads, the
greater part in black and white.
PRICE or THE PICTURES.
It appears that very few of Albert Durer’s works hâve found
their way to public auction.
We hâve alluded above to the two portraits, now in the
Florence Gallery, which formerly belonged to the collection of
Charles L, and which were sold by order of Parliament in 1650.
They produced together £100.
In later years (August, 1850), at the sale ofthe collection of
William IL, King of the Netherlands, we hâve seen that a
picture by Albert Durer, representing St. Hubert, realised, in-
cluding the expense of the sale, 8,668 francs (about £350
sterling).
DRAWIKGS.
Albert Durer’s drawings are executed with great skill.
There exists a considérable nuinber of them.
The Muséum of the Louvre contains fifteen, the most
remarkable of which are The Passion and The Résurrection of
Jésus Christ. These two superb compositions are drawn with
the pen,and shaded white on tinted paper.
The collection of prints in the National Library at Paris
contains five of the artist’s very beautiful water-colour drawings.
Albert Durer’s works, as that of Adam Bartsch or Heller, but
in order to satisfy the curiosity of our readers, we shall point
out the principal pièces which compose the works of one of the
greatest geniuses of Germany-—of a man who was an artist,
an engraver, a sculptor, an architect, a geometrician, and an
author.
PICTURES,
Albert Durer has produced very few oil paintings, owing to
the fact of his time having been occupied by such a variety of
employments ; and it is only in the galleries of the German
sovereigns that a correct idea can be formed of them.
In the Belvidere Palace at Vienna are to be found
seven, well authenticated :—
The Portrait of Maximilian L, dated 1519.
The Martyrdom ofthe 10,000 Christians, who were put to a
cruel death by the command of Sapor II, King of Per sia.
Albert Durer is represented in this picture with his friend,
Willibald Pirckheimer. He is holding a stick with a paper
attached to it, with the inscription, “ Iste faciebat anno
Domini, 1508, Albertus Durer alemanusf with his monogram.
Tbis picture was painted for Frederick, Duke of Saxony; it
afterwards adorned the Rodolph Gallery at Prague. Karel
Van Mander, in his Book on the Pointers, speaks very highly
of it.
The Trinity. God the Father, seated on a rainbow, is re-
presented holding the dying Son on the cross ; the Holy Ghost,
in the shape of a dove, hovers above. It is surrounded by a
glorious company of angels, saints, and patriarchs. Beneath
is seen Albert Durer himself, holding a tablet with his mono-
gram, and this inscription, “ Albertus Durer, noricus, faciebat
anno à Virginis partu, 1511.”
The Virgin of the Pear, signed with his monogram, and
dated 1512.
Portrait of a Fair-haired Youth, dated 1507.
Portrait of Johannes Kleberqer, merchant of Nuremburq,
dated 1526.
The Holy Virgin Suckling the Infant Jésus, painted in 1503.
In THE PlNAKOTHEK OF Munich, some of A'ibert Durer’s
finest paintings are to be seen. This valuable collection, partly
formed from those of Dusseldorf, Mannheim, and Schleisheim,
contains seventeen works of this great master, many portraits,
among others that of Durer’s father, with this inscription in
German, “ I painted this likeness of my father when he was
sixty—Albert Durer, senior.” Dated 1497.
The Portrait of Michael Wohlgemuth, Albert Durer’s master,
dated 1506. Michael was then 82 years of âge.
The Portrait of Albert Durer, dressed in fur, his righthand
placed on his breast, with the inscription,11 Albertus Dureras
noricus ipsum me propriis sic efngebam coloribus œtatis
XXVIII.” Dated 1500.
The Apostles St. Peter, St. John, St. Paul, and St. Mark.
Durer presented these two pictures to the Council of Nurcm-
burg, where they were preserved until the year 1627. By the
desire of Maximilian I. they were conveyed to Munich, and
replaced by copies by Wisscher. These four figures, the size
of life, painted in 1526, are known by the name of the Four
Tempéraments. These two works are exquisite, and mark
the highest degree of perfection to w’hich their author has
attained.
Christ on the Cross—The Descent from the .Cross—The
Weeping Virgin—St. Mary Dying—besides Lucretia in the
act of Stabbing herself, and two small pictures representing
St. Joachim and St. Joseph, painted in 1523, upon a ground of
gold, after the style of the school of the Lower Bhine.
The Public Collection at Nuremberg, established in the
Mansion of the Brotherhood of Landaner, contains only three
of Albert Durer’s pictures, viz., Hercules Fighting with the
Harpies, painted in water-colours in the year 1500, and two
corresponding panels, the one representing Charlemagne, the
other the Emperor Sigismund, both figures larger than life.
The Chapel of St. Maurice contains a painting of The
Dead Body of Christ supported by St. John, and wept over by
the Virgin Mary.
At Prague may be seen, in the Strahlhauer Convent, the
painting which represents the Virgin Croivned by two Angels ;
she is surrounded by persons in an attitude of worship, among
whom may be recognised the artist, his friend Willibald Pirck-
heimer, the Emperor Maximilian I., and Blanche Marie, second
wife of that monarch. This picture, dated 1506, was begun
and finished, according to the inscription upon it, in five months,
and is known by the name of The Painting of the Crown of
Poses.
In the Dresden Gallery there are two pictures by Albert
Durer, one of the Bearing ofthe Cross, in black andwhite, and
a small portrait, dated 1521.
The Gallery of Cassel contains four portraits by this
master.
There are several of his secondary productions in the
Muséums of Frankfort, of Cologne, of Carlsruhe, of Gotha, and
of Darmstadt.
The northern capitals of Europe boast of being in possession
of paintings by Albert Durer. The catalogue of the Impérial
Muséum of St. Petersburg mentions five ; that of the Stock-
holm Gallery, three ; and that of Copenhagen, four ; but we
hâve reason to doubt the authenticity of their pretensions.
There are enumerated in the offic:al catalogue of the Muséum
at Madrid, eight productions of Albert Durer, but they are
either of little importance or doubtful authenticity.
In the Gallery at Florence may be seen, among other
works of this master, the The Adoration of the Magi—very
remarkable ; the busts of The Apostles St. Philip and St. James,
painted, in water-colours, in 1516 ; also the portrait of the
artist’s father, dated 1490, and that of Albert Durer himself,
painted in 1498. These two portraits came from the gallery of
Charles I, King of England.
Neither the Muséum of Berlin, nor the National Gallery of
London, possesses any pictures by Albert Durer. The collection
of pictures at the Louvre, and the Belgian Muséum, are without
a single specimen of this master’s talent.
Albert Durer is always seen to disadvantage in the galleries
of amateurs ; for the compositions they contain are unimportant,
and generally limited to portraits and studies of heads, the
greater part in black and white.
PRICE or THE PICTURES.
It appears that very few of Albert Durer’s works hâve found
their way to public auction.
We hâve alluded above to the two portraits, now in the
Florence Gallery, which formerly belonged to the collection of
Charles L, and which were sold by order of Parliament in 1650.
They produced together £100.
In later years (August, 1850), at the sale ofthe collection of
William IL, King of the Netherlands, we hâve seen that a
picture by Albert Durer, representing St. Hubert, realised, in-
cluding the expense of the sale, 8,668 francs (about £350
sterling).
DRAWIKGS.
Albert Durer’s drawings are executed with great skill.
There exists a considérable nuinber of them.
The Muséum of the Louvre contains fifteen, the most
remarkable of which are The Passion and The Résurrection of
Jésus Christ. These two superb compositions are drawn with
the pen,and shaded white on tinted paper.
The collection of prints in the National Library at Paris
contains five of the artist’s very beautiful water-colour drawings.