Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Artist of the Day - Day 11 - Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer; German Ninja Engraver and Painter

Albrecht Dürer was one the first artist that I remember reading about when I first took an art appreciate class in college.  I remember him because unlike many of the other artist of his day, he specialized in engravings, both woodblock and metal etchings.  His works are so detailed and vast that at first when you see thing you think: “Wow, that’s a great painting!”  But, you have to remember, he created these images via small, intricate carvings on wood… Backwards! (Remember, all engravings had to be done in ‘reverse’ so when they were inked and the paper was applied the image would show correctly on the paper).  Not only did he carve/engrave all the details, but while he was doing it he knew that his work was only temporary (in its actual form – the prints that were created would last for a long time).  The blocks themselves were only good for so many prints (the metal engravings would last longer, but even they had a limited ‘life span’ worth of prints).  Months, perhaps even years, on a piece of art that you knew would exist for a little while.  Dürer was truly dedicated to his art and to being an artist. 


Wikipedia
Albrecht Dürer – His Complete Works

No comments:

Post a Comment