DÜRER, Albrecht
(b. 1471, Nürnberg, d. 1528, Nürnberg)

Self-Portrait as the Man of Sorrows

1522
Drawing with lead pencil on blue-green primed paper, 408 x 290 mm
Kunsthalle, Bremen

The drawing was destroyed in war.

The Man of Sorrows is generally considered to be a self-portrait of Dürer created during his journey to the Netherlands. Semi-naked with a sunken chest and lips parted in pain, the man is gazing very naturalistically out of the picture. His crossed arms and the Instruments of the Passion such as the scourge and fasces remind us of Christ's sufferings.