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

The Apostles Philip and James

1516
Tempera on canvas, 45 x 38 and 46 x 37 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Dürer's monogram and the date are visible in the upper part of the two canvases, which are part of a series of twelve heads of apostles which the artist planned, though never completed. The two heads are constructed with an incisive and meticulous line, a reflection of Dürer's troubled search for moral austerity. We may recall that this was a particularly delicate time in German history, shortly before the emergence of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

The two saints inspire a diffuse sense of solemn veneration, in the passionate, severe eyes, the embittered curve of the mouths, and the overabundant beards, depicted as heavy, noble masses of coiling hair.