Painting ID:: 63608
Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg The Small Cardinal 1519 Engraving, 148 x 97 mm Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe This engraving is one of six copper plate portraits of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, one of the most influential representatives of the empire. This portrait is based on a preparatory drawing which presumably dates from the time of D?rer's stay at Augsburg during the Imperial Diet of 1518. In a letter to Georg Spalatin, an adviser of Frederick the Wise, D?rer reports the circumstances: "I am enclosing three prints of an engraving for my gracious lord. It was engraved upon the request of my gracious lord of Mainz. I sent the copper plate to him together with two hundred impressions as a present. He then sent me most kindly two hundred gold guilders in return and twenty ells of damask for a coat." The plate was used subsequently to illustrate the book Das Heiligtum zu Sachsen, Halle, 1524. The portrayed man is placed before a screen. His erect posture, diagonal line of sight out of the picture, the coat of arms and the two inscriptions all emphasize the official nature of the portrait. The inscription above the portrait reads: "Albrecht by Divine Mercy Presbyter Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Titular of St. Chrysogonus, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, Primate Elector of the Empire, Administrator of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg." The legend on the bottom states: "Thus were his eyes, his cheeks, his features at the age of 29." Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg was born on June 28, 1490. He became Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1513, Archbishop of Mainz in 1514 and Cardinal in 1518. In 1514 Jacob Fugger of the wealthy trading house of Augsburg had advanced 21,000 ducats to Albrecht in order to secure for him the Archbishopric of Mainz, which entailed the electorship. The Pope authorized the sale of indulgences to reimburse the Fuggers, provided one half of the proceeds was turned over to the Papal treasury. An agent of the Fuggers subsequently traveled in the Cardinal's retinue in charge of the cashbox. It was Albrecht who appointed the Dominican Tetzel and thus indirectly caused Luther to post his 95 theses on the church doors at Wittenberg:.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg; or, The Small Cardinal Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : portrait
Painting ID:: 63618
Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg 1523 Engraving, 174 x 127 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York "Before I became ill this year I sent an engraved copper plate to Your Electoral Grace with your portrait together with five hundred impressions thereof. Finding no acknowledgment of this in Your Grace's letter, I fear that either the portrait did not please Your Grace - this would sadden me, as my diligence would have had poor results - or else, I fear that it may not have reached Your Grace at all. I beg Your Grace for a gracious reply." Thus we have in D?rer's own words the history of this engraving. The fact that D?rer sent five hundred copies to the Cardinal, all produced at the same time, explains the uniform quality of so many impressions found in various collections. All these have the identical watermark, a small jug. This engraving is based on a new preparatory drawing that probably dates from the Diet of Nuremberg, 1522/23. The Cardinal had gained weight since the earlier portrait (The Small Cardinal) he had wild, protruding eyes, a bulbous mouth and layers of fat on chin and cheeks. D?rer offset the predominant lower part of the face with a large cap. It suggests that beneath it a large impressive head is to be found. In actuality that was not the case. D?rer used utmost discretion in the treatment of the physiological details without denying the monstrous reality. It is D?rer's most interesting utilization of a profile. In contrast with the Small Cardinal, and in accordance with other late portrait engravings, this portrait has depth and substance. It is treated as a real tablet, carved and framed after the fashion of Roman tombstones, which were common in Germany, as in Italy and France.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg; or, the Great Cardinal Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : portrait
Albrecht Durer b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of Nernberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, Nernberg
Albrecht Durer (May 21, 1471 ?C April 6, 1528) was a German painter, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg. His still-famous works include the Apocalypse woodcuts, Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514) and Melencolia I (1514), which has been the subject of extensive analysis and interpretation. His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his ambitious woodcuts revolutionized the potential of that medium. D??rer introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, have secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatise which involve principles of mathematics, perspective and ideal proportions.
His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Renaissance in Northern Europe ever since. Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg 1523 Engraving, 174 x 127 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York "Before I became ill this year I sent an engraved copper plate to Your Electoral Grace with your portrait together with five hundred impressions thereof. Finding no acknowledgment of this in Your Grace's letter, I fear that either the portrait did not please Your Grace - this would sadden me, as my diligence would have had poor results - or else, I fear that it may not have reached Your Grace at all. I beg Your Grace for a gracious reply." Thus we have in D?rer's own words the history of this engraving. The fact that D?rer sent five hundred copies to the Cardinal, all produced at the same time, explains the uniform quality of so many impressions found in various collections. All these have the identical watermark, a small jug. This engraving is based on a new preparatory drawing that probably dates from the Diet of Nuremberg, 1522/23. The Cardinal had gained weight since the earlier portrait (The Small Cardinal) he had wild, protruding eyes, a bulbous mouth and layers of fat on chin and cheeks. D?rer offset the predominant lower part of the face with a large cap. It suggests that beneath it a large impressive head is to be found. In actuality that was not the case. D?rer used utmost discretion in the treatment of the physiological details without denying the monstrous reality. It is D?rer's most interesting utilization of a profile. In contrast with the Small Cardinal, and in accordance with other late portrait engravings, this portrait has depth and substance. It is treated as a real tablet, carved and framed after the fashion of Roman tombstones, which were common in Germany, as in Italy and France.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg; or, the Great Cardinal Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : portrait
