[Art Journal 2.1] Duerer: Self Portrait 1493

Stürenburg · 623
Comes The Dragon
Digital Poster
Height 33" · 81cm
Edition 100
124 US$ · Inquiry

Art Journal

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Year 2 · No.1 · Jan 22 1998

ISSN 1437-1340

Duerer · Self Portrait 1493
A Dandy of 22 Years

Stürenburg · 493
Two Clowns
Digital Poster
Height 33" · 81cm
Edition 100
124 US$ · Inquiry

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Preface

This series is not intended to be a university course. I am not an art scholar - I am just a painter. I'm going to reveal some secrets that I stumbled upon. Of course, you too may discover some of these secrets in books, but they are hard to decipher. It will be my pleasure to do so and spread the word. My motto will be, as always:

Als ich kan
(from a painting of Jan van Eyck, found as a citation in a modern mathematical book, meaning: as good as I can do it).

Your appreciation gives me the encouragement to continue. It is for you and all the great masters that I do this, and I hope you enjoy the results. Please don't hesitate to send me feedback in order to help me with that goal! This kind of journal is new to the net, so please tell me if the size is OK (eg images are great, but big!).

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Because English is not my home language, I do not always express myself clearly. I hope that you are able to interpret my meaning. Also, I invite you to participate. Send me your articles and comments to be published in this journal.

Yours truly,

Duerer: Self Portrait 1493

Scans by the publisher.

Comment
A Dandy of 22 Years

You know, my native language is German (information, not fishing for compliments).

Welcome to our third investigation. I started off with Rembrandt, some 350 years ago, jumped to our century with Chagall, now we jump back again for 500 years. I chose this self portray of Albrecht Duerer for my first pairing for Pablo Journal, together with a self portray of Rembrandt.

Like Rembrandt, Duerer is famous for several outstanding self portrays. This one was made during his time on the road, which lasted four years. Originating from Nuernberg, this painting was made in Strasburg. Many details are very peculiar, and we will have a close look at some of them.

Detail

Detail

The most peculiar detail is his funny red cap, drawn only over half of his head, showing long curly blond hair. The cap is topped off with something I can't find a word for in my dictionary. I have one in German (Bommel), and I'm sure you have one in English, too. The next detail coming to mind is his fine precious shirt, which together with the cap adds very much to the female mood.

Detail

Detail

Detail

His coat is very precious also, and leads the eye to his hands. The hands are presented very prominently and contrast very much to the soft overall impression. Compare them with his chin, showing the first hairs of his beard. His right hand is bent as if he would play the harp, but instead the hands present a thistle, its stem bent peculiarly by the left hand.

Detail

Detail

Detail

The thistle probably has a meaning and is presented to symbolize something we don't know any more. Right over the topping of his cap, he wrote in large letters the year and some words in very small letters. I bet you have no chance to find out their meaning either.

Looking at his face, it is clear that this young man is very ambitious. Do you notice how his body fits into the panel and constitutes a great strength? You wouldn't guess that this young man is a painter, would you?

By the way, this painting was made a couple of years before the turn of a century. Can you imagine how people felt 500 years ago approaching the turn of a century?

Masthead images this time again by Joe (who's that?) at Gallery Beck.

All the best 'til next time. Yours truly,

PS:
If you have enjoyed this issue, please support my efforts and recommend it to a friend. For your convenience, I prepared both a mailto: link at the top and a Recommend-It button at the bottom.

Last month
Chagall, Cattle Dealer
Being a Modern Painter

See also the other journals:

Weekly Work	Pablo Journal	Marketing Musings	Creative Journal
172 · Please, Come!	Roots of Our Civilisation	Happy New Year and Assessing	The First Picture

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