Artists and Fame - Albrecht Dürer

Professional Reputation of Artists in the 15th Century

May 21, 2009

The German painter, engraver, printmaker and draughtsman who introduced new levels of perception of the artist as an independent professional.

Albrecht Dürer's (1471 - 1528) reputation was closely linked to the emergence of Humanism. The revival of interest in classical learning and literature encouraged further development in various intellectual areas. In the arts, Humanism brought a new concept of the artist as a learned individual.

Giorgio Vasari Praises Dürer

Dürer 's reputation was enhanced by the fact that he was one of the very few artists of the Northern Renaissance mentioned and approved of by Italian artist and theorist Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of The Artists. This helped to spread his renown beyond Germany.

Humanism

Dürer embodied the idea of the humanist artist by demonstrating his extensive knowledge of geometry, proportion, perspective, optics etc. and by his own writing of theoretical treatises in which he stressed the value of learning as well as artistic individuality and originality.

He was associated with contemporary humanist intellectuals and was a member of the intellectual community at the court of Maximilian I. This meant that he was known not only for his art but also for his learning. His activities reflected the impact of humanism as an intellectual movement on art. In addition, his fellow humanist enthusiasts, many of whom were distinguished scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, praised Dürer in their writings.

Patron - Free Art Production

Humanism placed value on the individual and this also influenced Dürer's artistic practice. Although he was well-connected, he did not rely on the support of wealthy patrons.

Rather, he produced his works on his own initiative and selected unconventional subject-matter that interested him, without having to rely on patrons. He was thus claiming artistic independence. This approach reflects Dürer's attitude as a professional who was aware of his status as an independent creative individual.

Self - Advertisement Through Self - Portraiture

Dürer confidently demonstrated his professional attitude through a series of self-portraits marking the gradual progression of his career and conceived as straightforward self-promotion.

The three self-portraits dated 1493, 1498 and 1500 show increasingly bolder forms of Dürer's statement of his abilities, status and identity. He presents himself as a wealthy gentleman in dignified pose and fine clothes. While it was a tradition for artists to portray themselves with the tools of their trade - brush, palette, chisel - in these portraits nothing indicates his profession. Only the German and Latin inscriptions identify him as the artist.

The latter of these is the most striking as Dürer here establishes the relationship between himself and a potential patron as one of equal partners. His upper body fills the pictorial space and stands out clearly from the dark background. There are no details to distract the viewer. On the contrary, he faces the viewer as a confident man creating the illusion of an intense presence.

Technology and Commerce: The Invention of Printing

This mode of self-portraiture reveals that Dürer was conscious not only of his status but also of his own artistic mastery and his commercial success. He successfully combined his exceptional technical skills learned through traditional training with an emphasis on meticulous craftsmanship, typical of Northern Europe with the latest printing technology and the intellectual trends of the period.

Dürer increased his fame through the choice of media and by turning modern technological inventions to his advantage. Despite the popularity of istorie - narrative paintings typical of the Italian Renaissance Dürer's principal focus was on craft-based activities such as woodcuts, engraving and printing.

Art Marketing

The advances in print technology enabled him to reproduce and distribute his works on a large scale, thus making his original creative ideas accessible to a wider audience and achieving fame throughout Europe along with commercial profit.

The copyright of the article Artists and Fame - Albrecht Dürer in Renaissance Art is owned by Zuzana Minarikova. Permission to republish Artists and Fame - Albrecht Dürer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.