s0246l-ALBRECHT DURER born 5/21/1471-4/6/1528 in Nuremberg, Germany,
The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. Under American copyright law, originality of expression is necessary for copyright protection, and a mere photograph of an out-of-copyright work may not be protected under American copyright law.
Image of self portrait 1500 by Albrecht Durer, oil on board, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Son of a prosperous goldsmith Albrecht Durer the Elder (1427-1502), was a central figure in the German Renaissance, Durer was an apprentice, first in his father's workshop and later until 1490 in the studio of the painter Wolgemut, after his bachelor journey, to Colmar, Basel, and Strasbourg, and a trip to Italy in 1494, he established himself permanently in Nuremberg, through these travels he gained a first hand acquaintance with the art of Schongauer, the foremost Northern engraver of this time, and while in Italy he was drawn to the art of Mantegna and Bellini, together with a keen sense of observation for realistic details, he developed a rational system of perspective and bodily proportions, but was also able to create visions of fantasy, his engravings reveal a meticulousness of craftsmanship, with a great richness of detail, often expressed his humanistic inclinations, converted c.1519 to the cause of Protestantism, he reflected the doctrines of Luther in some of his later works, worked on the translation of lighting and tonal effects into the graphic medium, he signed most of his work and made penetrating self-portraits throughout his life, revealing a consciousness of his individuality, helped elevate graphic art into the realm of fine art, talented draftsman and painter, he created a vast number of woodcuts and engravings throughout his career, composed a treatise on human proportions, a work on applied geometry, and a treatise on fortifications,