\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 German painter.\par
The son of a goldsmith, Albrecht Dⁿrer served his first apprenticeship in his fatherÆs workshop, where
he learned how to use the burin or graving tool. From 1486 to 1490 he was employed in the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, which specialized in the production of woodcuts. A first visit to Venice and Northern Italy between 1494 and
1495 allowed him to deepen his understanding of classical and Renaissance art, in particular that of Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini. This inspired him to produce works in a clearly Italian manner on his return home, such as the triptych for the ele
ctor of Saxony (Dresden, GemΣldegalerie) and the \i Madonna\i0 in Washington (National Gallery). The artist opened his own workshop at Nuremberg in 1495, achieving considerable fame with the series of woodcuts dedicated to the \i Apocalypse\i0 (1498) a
nd shortly afterward the \i Great Passion\i0 . The influence of the great engraver Martin Schongauer is clearly visible in these works. Over this period Dⁿrer painted a series of portraits and \i Self-portraits\i0 in which he showed a proud awareness of
his own standing as an artist û portraits from 1493 (Paris, Louvre), 1498 (Madrid, Prado), and 1500 (Munich, Alte Pinakothek). The interest in the problems of representation in space that he had developed in Italy found expression chiefly in paintings o
f religious subjects such as the \i Paumgartner Triptych\i0 and the \i Adoration of the Magi\i0 in Florence (Uffizi), although still handled in a typically Northern European manner. In 1505 and 1506 the artist was in Venice again, where he received the
prestigious commission for the \i Madonna of the Rose Garlands\i0 , intended for the church of San Bartolomeo and ordered by the community of German merchants in Venice (now in the Prague Picture Gallery). After his return to Nuremberg, he painted works
that were still influenced by Italian art, making extensive use of \i sfumato\i0 in the landscape, such as the altarpiece of the \i Ten Thousand Saints\i0 or the \i Adoration of the Trinity\i0 (both in Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). During the sa
me period he produced celebrated engravings of allegorical significance û the \i Knight, Death, and the Devil\i0 , and \i Melencolia I\i0 . In 1512 he entered the service of Emperor Maximilian I, for whom he painted two portraits (now in Vienna and Nurem
berg). After the death of the emperor, Dⁿrer made a journey to the Netherlands to obtain a ratification of his post from Charles V and came into direct contact with contemporary Flemish painting, coming under the influence of Lucas van Leyden in particul
ar. On his death, the artist bequeathed to his native city the monumental \i Four Apostles\i0 of 1526 (Munich, Alte Pinakothek), which represents the peak of his stylistic evolution and a testimony to his deep religious feelings. His art is a happy fusi
on of the Northern European element, with its great meticulousness and imagination, and the color and forms typical of Italian painting.
