INTRODUCTION.
It may seem cause for wonder that Diirer, with the ardent admiration
which he evidently had for Italy and the antique, and with his longing
for formal Beauty, did not succumb to these influences, like the later
artists of Germany and of the Netherlands. But he was too strong a
man for that, he had too much of a personality of his own, and so, in-
stead of a weakly imitator, he became a great artist, in spite of all his
limitations.
IV. Was Durer a Copyist?
The story of Diirer’s life has unfortunately been burdened with a
number of questions, which are either of themselves of little or no impor-
tance, or which have been or can be definitely answered in the negative,
but which, once having been raised, must necessarily be alluded to when-
ever his work is spoken of. Among these is the question as to the
originality of a number of Diirer’s earlier engraved plates: — Are the
compositions represented in these plates his own, or did he merely copy
them from some older artist ? The plates in dispute are the following
nine, here given with the numbers and in the order of this catalogue:
io. The Little Courier.
12. The Promenade.
13. The Virgin and Child with the Monkey.
14. The Four Naked Women.
15. The Dream.
16. The Rape of Amymone.
17. Hercules.
22. The Cook and his Wife.
27. The Lady and the Lansquenet.
Of these nine plates versions exist by an engraver who signs with a
W. (See No. iqa .) Thausing endeavored to show that this engraver
was Wolgemut, Diirer’s teacher, and that his plates were the originals,
while those bearing Diirer’s monogram were copied from them. He
xxiii
It may seem cause for wonder that Diirer, with the ardent admiration
which he evidently had for Italy and the antique, and with his longing
for formal Beauty, did not succumb to these influences, like the later
artists of Germany and of the Netherlands. But he was too strong a
man for that, he had too much of a personality of his own, and so, in-
stead of a weakly imitator, he became a great artist, in spite of all his
limitations.
IV. Was Durer a Copyist?
The story of Diirer’s life has unfortunately been burdened with a
number of questions, which are either of themselves of little or no impor-
tance, or which have been or can be definitely answered in the negative,
but which, once having been raised, must necessarily be alluded to when-
ever his work is spoken of. Among these is the question as to the
originality of a number of Diirer’s earlier engraved plates: — Are the
compositions represented in these plates his own, or did he merely copy
them from some older artist ? The plates in dispute are the following
nine, here given with the numbers and in the order of this catalogue:
io. The Little Courier.
12. The Promenade.
13. The Virgin and Child with the Monkey.
14. The Four Naked Women.
15. The Dream.
16. The Rape of Amymone.
17. Hercules.
22. The Cook and his Wife.
27. The Lady and the Lansquenet.
Of these nine plates versions exist by an engraver who signs with a
W. (See No. iqa .) Thausing endeavored to show that this engraver
was Wolgemut, Diirer’s teacher, and that his plates were the originals,
while those bearing Diirer’s monogram were copied from them. He
xxiii