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Artist Report -
Weesner
Art Appreciation (Liberty
University)
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ARTIST REPORT 1
1513; Knight, Death, and the Devil
The medium of this artwork is engraving. The sheet is 25 x 19.6cm, while the plate is
24.3 x 18.8cm. It is now stored at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met Collection, 2022).
Biography
Albrecht Dürer was born on May 21, 1471 (Ruhmer, 1999) to Albrecht and Barbara
Dürer in Nuremberg, Germany. He had up to seventeen siblings. When Dürer was thirteen, he
began an apprenticeship at his father’s workshop. He had a significant talent for draughting, and
he gained an apprenticeship under Michael Wolgemut for three years. After the apprenticeship,
he began traveling to gain experience but eventually returned to Nuremberg in 1494 and married
Agnes Frey. (The Art Story, 2022)
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ARTIST REPORT 2
After a year-long trip to Italy, he opened his first workshop in 1495. One of the earliest
intellectual property cases occurred when engraver Marcantonio Raimondi copied Dürer’s work
and sold them as originals. The government ruled that Raimondi would be able to sell them as
long as he did not use his monogram. Unfortunately, in 1519, Dürer’s health began to decline. He
began to develop poor eyesight as well as arthritis. (The Art Story, 2022).
In 1521, he was found to have an illness after a trip to The Netherlands and Brussels the
previous year. He created more significant religious works, although most were never finished.
His last significant piece of art, The Four Apostles (1526), was donated to the City of Nuremberg
after his death on April 6, 1528. (The Art Story, 2022)
Art Movement
Dürer belonged to the Renaissance Art movement. Britannica (2009) stated that the
Renaissance art movement “combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival
of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man.” (para. 1).
Art Critics
Many art critics and historians seem to adore and be inspired by Dürer’s work. Bartrum
(2003) states, “What rotten luck to be an artist born after Albrecht Dürer!” (para. 1). This short
phrase has so much meaning despite its length. Others such as Kennicott (2013) show and
describe admiration of all his work, claiming it is “so good and so absorbing, you’ll want to
walk home alone, avoid crowds, and preserve the fragile sense of awe and melancholy it inspires
for as long as possible.” (para. 1).
Conclusion
I love Dürer’s work. Although he focused more on paintings, his engravings are what
really speak to me. According to Getlein (2020), engravings were even his most famous work
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ARTIST REPORT 3
and made him the most money. The way he gets so much definition just using depth is
impressive. I also love creepy art styles, and many horror artists tend to copy this style of work,
although it is usually replicated with pencil shading rather than engraving. The engraving itself
adds so much more to the artwork because of its physically differentiating depths. The fact that
he also began creating religious works is shocking, too, as many artists do not do that. Though it
may have been near the end of his life, it is never too late to change your ways. As Romans 9:9-
10 says,
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person
believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation. (NASB, 2020).
As long as you genuinely believe in your heart that He is good, Jesus is the Savior, and repent,
you will be saved. Because of this declaration, Dürer’s work means even more and can be so
much more inspiring. Not only will it live on in this world, but it will be accentuated in heaven.
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ARTIST REPORT 4
References
Bartrum, G. (2003). Albrecht Dürer and his legacy: The graphic work of a Renaissance artist.
Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews. https://hnanews.org/hnar/reviews/albrecht-
durer-legacy-graphic-work-renaissance-artist/
Britannica. (2009). Renaissance art. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Renaissance-art
Getlein, M. (2020). Living with Art. McGraw Hill Education, (12), 181-203.
Kennicott, P. (2013). Art review: Durer at the National Gallery. The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/art-review-durer-at-the-
national-gallery/2013/03/21/1d8db280-916b-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239_story.html
New American Standard Bible. (1995). The Lockman
Foundation. Ruhmer, E. (1999). Albrecht Dürer. Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albrecht-Durer-German-artist
The Art Story. (2022). Biography of Albrecht Dürer. The Art Story.
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/durer-albrecht/life-and-legacy/
The Met Collection. (2022). Knight, Death, and the Devil. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336223
