Self-Portrait at the age of 13 (the title is modern) is a silverpoint drawing by Albrecht Dürer, dated 1484, when the artist was either twelve or thirteen years of age. It is now in the Albertina museum, Vienna, where it arrived, via the collections of the Imhoff family in Nuremberg and the Habsburg collections, from Dürer's own literary and remains. It is the artist's oldest known surviving drawing, one of the oldest extant self-portraits in European art, and one of the earliest child's drawings, as well. It was completed two years before Albrecht left his father's apprenticeship to study under Michael Wolgemut, whom (some modern authors speculate) he quickly realised was a valuable mentor but whom the younger man may have recognized was unequal to himself in his abilities.[1]
Albrecht Dürer's 1484 self-portrait. Albertina, Vienna, 27.5 x 19.6 cm
Throughout his life Dürer expressed resolute self-confidence. He celebrated himself in his drawings and writings.[2] His four known self-portraits were all completed before he entered his 30s, and so they predate his mature period. As with the other three self-portraits, which are oil paintings, this work can be interpreted as having recorded Dürer's awareness of, and confidence in, his great-yet-still-developing artistic powers. This tone is especially evident in the subject's precocious countenance.[3] Dürer presents himself in half-length and in side view, in a pose closely resembling the one seen in a surviving portrait attributed to his father, also Albrecht, who was a goldsmith by profession.[2] That both drawings are self-portraits is indicated by their treatment of the right hand, which appears hidden, because difficult to capture while in the act of drawing.[4]
The artist's left arm is raised, while his index finger, boldly points to an unidentified area outside the picture’s frame. Dürer presents himself in a flattering light: He has long hair, he has the pleasing appearance of a fresh-faced boy, and he has elegant and elongated fingers (at the time, this was a characteristic both fashionable and seen to indicate draftsman skills).[2] Dürer wrote in the 1520s that even his simple sketches expressed "the spiritual essence of an artist's creative impulse"—since a talented artist could express more in a simple line-drawing than a mediocre artist could express in a year of painting.[5] By the time he made this statement, the artist was looking back at his production, including early works like the silverpoint self-portrait that had been made before he entered formal training as an artist under Wolgemut. From this retrospective point of view, the drawing becomes proof of Dürer's inborn genius, though at the time of its creation it had a quite different purpose. That it was preserved, however, proves that Dürer's family, most likely his father, saw fit to collect his son's output.
It has been speculated on the basis of Dürer's Family Chronicle that the self-portrait might have been set as a task by Albrecht the Elder as a challenge for his son.[6] It was signed at some unknown later date (probably in the 1520s) with the words "This I drew myself from a mirror in the year 1484, when I was still a child. Albrecht Dürer".[7] Dürer was born in May 1471, and he himself did not title the work--nor did he title most of his works; given that it was completed in 1484, it is almost equally likely Dürer had created it when he was 12 years old, even though the self-portrait is sometimes known by the invented title "at the age of 13"[3][8]
^The same is true of his Self-Portrait at 28. Titles of Dürer's works, like the works of most artist of the period, are later inventions. The autograph dates the painting as having been completed in 1500, which leaves open an almost-equal probability that at the time when his work on the portrait had been finished, he was 29 years old.
Bibliographyedit
Bieler, Stacey. Albrecht Durer: Artist in the Midst of Two Storms. Cascade Books, 2017. ISBN978-1-5326-1965-6
Brion, Marcel. Dürer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960
Joseph Koerner. The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance art". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Hall, James. The Self-portrait: A Cultural History. London: Thames & Hudson, 2014. ISBN978-0-5002-3910-0
Porcu, Costantino (ed). Dürer. Rizzoli, Milano 2004
Chipps Smith, Jeffrey; Silver, Larry (eds). The Essential Durer. University of Pennsylvania, 2011. ISBN978-0-8122-2178-7
October 26, 2023
self, portrait, self, portrait, title, modern, silverpoint, drawing, albrecht, dürer, dated, 1484, when, artist, either, twelve, thirteen, years, albertina, museum, vienna, where, arrived, collections, imhoff, family, nuremberg, habsburg, collections, from, dü. Self Portrait at the age of 13 the title is modern is a silverpoint drawing by Albrecht Durer dated 1484 when the artist was either twelve or thirteen years of age It is now in the Albertina museum Vienna where it arrived via the collections of the Imhoff family in Nuremberg and the Habsburg collections from Durer s own literary and remains It is the artist s oldest known surviving drawing one of the oldest extant self portraits in European art and one of the earliest child s drawings as well It was completed two years before Albrecht left his father s apprenticeship to study under Michael Wolgemut whom some modern authors speculate he quickly realised was a valuable mentor but whom the younger man may have recognized was unequal to himself in his abilities 1 Albrecht Durer s 1484 self portrait Albertina Vienna 27 5 x 19 6 cmThroughout his life Durer expressed resolute self confidence He celebrated himself in his drawings and writings 2 His four known self portraits were all completed before he entered his 30s and so they predate his mature period As with the other three self portraits which are oil paintings this work can be interpreted as having recorded Durer s awareness of and confidence in his great yet still developing artistic powers This tone is especially evident in the subject s precocious countenance 3 Durer presents himself in half length and in side view in a pose closely resembling the one seen in a surviving portrait attributed to his father also Albrecht who was a goldsmith by profession 2 That both drawings are self portraits is indicated by their treatment of the right hand which appears hidden because difficult to capture while in the act of drawing 4 The artist s left arm is raised while his index finger boldly points to an unidentified area outside the picture s frame Durer presents himself in a flattering light He has long hair he has the pleasing appearance of a fresh faced boy and he has elegant and elongated fingers at the time this was a characteristic both fashionable and seen to indicate draftsman skills 2 Durer wrote in the 1520s that even his simple sketches expressed the spiritual essence of an artist s creative impulse since a talented artist could express more in a simple line drawing than a mediocre artist could express in a year of painting 5 By the time he made this statement the artist was looking back at his production including early works like the silverpoint self portrait that had been made before he entered formal training as an artist under Wolgemut From this retrospective point of view the drawing becomes proof of Durer s inborn genius though at the time of its creation it had a quite different purpose That it was preserved however proves that Durer s family most likely his father saw fit to collect his son s output It has been speculated on the basis of Durer s Family Chronicle that the self portrait might have been set as a task by Albrecht the Elder as a challenge for his son 6 It was signed at some unknown later date probably in the 1520s with the words This I drew myself from a mirror in the year 1484 when I was still a child Albrecht Durer 7 Durer was born in May 1471 and he himself did not title the work nor did he title most of his works given that it was completed in 1484 it is almost equally likely Durer had created it when he was 12 years old even though the self portrait is sometimes known by the invented title at the age of 13 3 8 See also editList of paintings by Albrecht DurerNotes edit Bieler 2017 p 21 a b c Hall 2014 p 91 a b Hall 2014 p 90 Koerner 1993 pp 42 43 Chipps Smith Sliver p 16 Hall 2014 p 92 Bieler 2017 p 17 The same is true of his Self Portrait at 28 Titles of Durer s works like the works of most artist of the period are later inventions The autograph dates the painting as having been completed in 1500 which leaves open an almost equal probability that at the time when his work on the portrait had been finished he was 29 years old Bibliography editBieler Stacey Albrecht Durer Artist in the Midst of Two Storms Cascade Books 2017 ISBN 978 1 5326 1965 6 Brion Marcel Durer London Thames and Hudson 1960 Joseph Koerner The Moment of Self Portraiture in German Renaissance art Chicago University of Chicago Press 1993 Hall James The Self portrait A Cultural History London Thames amp Hudson 2014 ISBN 978 0 5002 3910 0 Porcu Costantino ed Durer Rizzoli Milano 2004 Chipps Smith Jeffrey Silver Larry eds The Essential Durer University of Pennsylvania 2011 ISBN 978 0 8122 2178 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Self Portrait at the Age of 13 amp oldid 1174576314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
