Formative years, first Italian journey; paintings until 1496
by Albrecht DÜRER

In November 1486, at the age of 15, Dürer was apprenticed to the painter Michael Wolgemut. Although Wolgemut would later be overshadowed by his talented pupil, he was then Nuremberg's leading artist. Wolgemut was a successful entrepreneur, handling a broad range of artistic work, such as painting altarpieces and portraits, designing stained glass and producing woodcut prints. Dürer remained as an apprentice with Wolgemut for three years, learning the basic skills.

In 1490, after his painter's apprenticeship in Michael Wolgemut's workshop ended, Dürer left on four years of travels as a journeyman to work for different masters, and immediately before departing painted the two portraits of his parents which were originally connected in the manner of a diptych and were separated after 1588. From his stay at Strasbourg two oil paintings survive, his first painted self-portrait and a devotional panel of Christ as the Man of Sorrows.

Returning to Nuremberg Dürer set up his workshop. His first paatron was Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, who commissioned his portrait and two altarpieces for the church at his palace at Wittenberg. Of the first altarpiece, devoted to the Life of the Virgin, only the left half depicting the Seven Sorrows survives. The second altarpiece is the triptych of the Virgin between St Anthony the Hermit and St Sebastian.

In 1494 Dürer made his first Italian journey and spent the winter in Venice. Italian art was to have a strong influence on Dürer's own work, particularly in paintings such as the Virgin and Child before an Archway.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Portrait of Barbara Dürer
1490
Oil on pine panel, 47 x 38 cm
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

823*1094
True Color
123 Kb



Portrait of Dürer's Father
1490
Oil on panel, 48 x 40 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

802*1049
True Color
91 Kb



Alliance Coat of Arms of the Dürer and Holper Families
1490
Oil on panel, 47 x 39 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

800*964
True Color
151 Kb



Self-portrait at 22
1493
Oil on linen, transferred from vellum, 57 x 45 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

804*1053
True Color
105 Kb



Christ as the Man of Sorrows
c. 1493
Oil on panel, 30 x 19 cm
Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe

750*1188
True Color
189 Kb



St Jerome in the Wilderness
c. 1495
Oil on panel, 23 x 17 cm
National Gallery, London

770*1038
True Color
141 Kb



Virgin and Child before an Archway
c. 1495
Oil on panel, 48 x 36 cm
Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Mamiano di Traversetolo

822*1111
True Color
107 Kb



Portrait of Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony
1496
Tempera on canvas, 76 x 57 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

807*1111
True Color
134 Kb



The Dresden Altarpiece
1496
Oil on canvas, 117 x 96,5 cm (central panel), 114 x 45 cm (each wing)
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

1203*680
True Color
141 Kb



The Dresden Altarpiece (side wings)
1496
Oil on canvas, 114 x 45 cm (each)
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

804*1014
True Color
159 Kb



The Dresden Altarpiece (central panel)
1496
Oil on canvas, 117 x 96,5 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

806*1017
True Color
154 Kb



The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin
c. 1496
Oil on panel, 109 x 43 cm (central panel), 63 x 46 cm (each side panel)
Alte Pinakothek, Munchen and Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

850*1217
True Color
182 Kb



The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin: Mother of Sorrows
c. 1496
Oil on pine panel, 109,2 x 43,3 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

580*1477
True Color
111 Kb



The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin: The Flight into Egypt
c. 1496
Oil on pine panel, 63 x 45,5 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

770*1081
True Color
190 Kb




Summary of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
until 1496 | 1497-99 | 1500-03 | 1504 | 1505-06
1507-09 | 1511 | 1512-17 | 1518-21 | 1522-28
graphic works