Albrecht Dürer Master of Detail

A Self-portrait Born May 21, 1471 Nuremburg, Germany Died April 5, 1528 At one time, was claimed to be the greatest artist in all of Europe!

Dürer was an artist in many ways: During his 57 years, he created over 100 paintings,

more than 1,000 etchings and engravings, 1524 copper etching of Frederick the Wise an engraving of an Astronomer from the title page of a book

many woodcuts, only 3 dry points, and lots of drawings. a woodcut titled, The Adoration of the Magi, 1511 The Hare drawing by Albrecht Durer drypoint, The Holy Family, 1512

Not only was he an artist, but an author, scholar, and mathematician, as well. Albrecht wrote several books based on his knowledge of perspective and geometry. A book on human proportion A book on measurement Durer’s mathematical explanation of a cone

Dürer could even draw animals he’d NEVER seen before! A Rhinoceros (pen and ink drawing, 1515) Dürer's pen drawing of this Indian rhinoceros is a typical example of his interest in animals. The image of the rhinoceros is based on some notes and a sketch by an unknown artist. He never saw the actual creature in real life! Text

Dürer was one of the first artists to view animals as a subject worthy of attention. At the beginning of the 16th century, the natural world of animals and plants was becoming a focus of interest as explorers and travelers were returning from distant lands with examples and illustrations of new species. Dürer shared this fascination with animals and nature which he revealed in many of his drawings, watercolors and prints.

Albrecht Dürer, Master of Detail Look at the detail of the lion’s face, fur, and claws.

What details do you see?

A Closer Look... The Knight, Death, & the Devil

Sheet of Studies with Sketches of Animals and Landscapes 1521 Pen and black ink with colored washes

Other famous drawings by Albrecht Dürer The Praying Hands Study of two feet, c The Study of Three Hands,

Self-portrait at 13 years old Albrecht grew up in his father’s goldsmith shop, learning to make fine jewelry in tiny detail. He spent most of his adult life traveling around Europe painting and learning. In all his works of art, Dürer demonstrated his excellent powers of observation with a quality almost like taking a picture!

Time-out for Writing Later, for our hands-on project, we are going to try to do what Albrecht Dürer did before the first photograph. We are going to draw an animal using only someone else’s WORDS! Crazy, right? We like crazy and the kids who’ve tried it so far think it’s fab. But first, we need YOU to write a description of an animal for someone else to draw! Your secret animal will be revealed to the student artist AFTER their drawing is done. Now get ready to describe an animal with WORDS! Your animal may be imaginary or real. Make sure to describe all the parts you can think of. Think about legs, skin, teeth, fins, horns, tails, eyelashes, claws, webbed feet, fur - how does it look and how does it feel? Please return this postcard to your awesome Picture Person.