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Sonja Binner

The Age of Albrecht Duerer

Analysis the human nature in realism style or form
November 1, 2015 - February 14, 2016
Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street, Sacramento, CA

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Albrecht Duerers exhibit at Crocker Art Museum is an astonishing show with his most
famous drawings. The Crocker Art Museum had one of his drawings already on display because
it was purchase from the founder Edwin Byrant Crocker and his wife Margret when they visited
Europe in 1869-71. During their visit they returned with over 1400 paintings and master
drawings among which was one of the first drawing of Albrecht Duerer work that entered into
the United States (Crocker Art Museum Catalog, pp.6). But now the big collection exhibition
enters the first time in the United States to see ten of Duerers drawings in the Crocker Art
Museum, and it is very exciting. Among with Duerers work are other artist displayed from
Europa most of the artist are from Germany or Switzerland. The show will be on display from
November 1, 2015 - February 14, 2016. It is a lending collection from the Ecole Nationale
Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris and are drawings and prints from the German school called
The Age of Albrecht Duerer: German Drawings from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Their
mission is to show art lovers, student, and researcher the complexities of artwork from the
Renaissance. It took Ecole four centuries to give the public immediate access to art and Crocker
Art Museum was the first to get the opportunity for the show in the Unities States.
In Duerers drawings and prints, he present the human nature in a realism style or form.
We can define realism as work of visual art and should look like what is meant to show. The
viewer should quickly recognize what is in the picture and the quality of a literary text which is
related closely to the everyday life (Barrett, pp 19). Aristotle was a believer in Realism theory
and accept Realism and its requirements that truth and beauty embodied in representational
imitations of nature (Barrett, pp 22). The Greeks concept of beauty is complex and is linked to
knowledge, truth, goodness, nature, and art work. By successful representation of art work

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Aristotle meant we engage our attention and emotion and its almost the real thing. The artist
give the viewer a point of view by showing something from a different vantage point. One
criterium for Aristotle was for a successful art the presenting the subject matter in a way that
invites the viewer to think about it. The viewer should interpret and judge the world as presented
in a work of art in similar ways to how they would interpret it outside of the work of art.
Duerer was a master in observations of life situations and worked as German painter,
engraver, and printmaker. His first experience was to work in the etching printmaking process
with insights on the artistic techniques used and developed by Duerer but not to forget his
commissioned artworks. Duerer was one of the Renaissance artist concerned with the
proportions of the human figure as a means of perfecting an imperfect nature and confronting
this problem in his quite specific ways (Parshall, p3). He had to figure a way out to define it in
his one way and imagination so he made something up to create it beautifully. Duerers idea was
to combining elements of knowing to make previously unknown thing, a synthetic strategy. It is
a strategy already posted by Plato and is a fundamental question; do something exist simply
because we can imagine them for instant Duerers engraving Knight, Death and the Devil is a
good example. Duerer did take for granted that the evil demon existed so he created that picture
(Parshall, p.5). It take big imagination and skills in oder to discover things that are not there and
Duerer mastered it perfectly. Duerer insists that an artist should always try to work from nature
rather than copy other peoples work (Parshall, p.6). He also explained to create a beautiful
human figure by selecting the best parts of several models and put them together to create the
best work a artist can do. But on the other hand when Duerer created Adam and Eve he made an
anatomical research in a series of original composition on various theme, not from observation

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(Crocker Museum, p.40). One quote I really like to interpret: Never take the pencil in hand if
you have not first constituted with the your mind all you have to do and how you have to do it. It
will be better to correct the errors with the mind than remove them from the drawings(Parshall,
p13). It is a very true statement and important one for any artist and should be taking in
consideration before starting their work. As an artist, we should force ourselves to have every
part well thought out in our mind from the start so we wouldnt have any problem to know how
each object has to be done or where they are located. Planing out and observing is the whole
magic or key to making thinks work out..
When we critic or analyzing art work, we need to question ourselves. What is art? Must it
be beautiful or can it be ugly? Must art communicate something or be about something? Should
art tell story? Must artwork be made by hand? Should all works of art be judged by the same
criteria? These are all very good question before we look for positional art work such as Duerer
in Crocker Art Museum.
Everything can be art, its our imagination what makes art in our eyes. For instant, going
to the Museum and looking at artwork sometimes we asked ourselves, is that really art? But it is
the viewers choice to consider the art work is it art or not. It hasnt to be beautiful or ugly but
rather its our perspective to see what we like to see. Most of the time art work communicate and
have a silent voice like a written language does. All artwork can not be criticized or judged by
the same standard because we have to differences if its a painting, drawing, sculpture,
performance, or installation. All art works are unique, and we have to see it that way then we can
start to make an objective judgment. Albrecht Duerers case all of his work cant be judged or

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criticized in the same way because it is a large and complex medium he used from woodcuts to
prints.
Duerer shows in his drawings lively everyday people whether they were sad or happy or
show stoic emotions. In his work, he showed human struggle with humor and at the same time,
showing how daily life was at that time period. Duerers work show a lot of emotion in a good
way, but also in satiric or human nature - like every day situation. We can argue about his
drawings whether its ugly or beautiful. For instance, The Peasant und his Wife, its tells a
story about a man and his wife. Duerers drawing is more in a humanistic form and it shows us a
situation in our daily life. It is a very carefully thought drawing with emotional character such as
raising his hand to the sky. He may be telling his wife about Astrology or how the stars are in
constellation. We dont know we can only assume. When we look at his face, his mouth is open
and his eyes are lying on his wifes face. Is she listening to him or what? Its doesnt look like.
The expression on his face are very emotional because of the fine lines are used. We get the
feeling he will have the attention from his wife.
Duerers art influence very strongly felt in the courts and cities of his homeland,
Germany, the Holy Empire, and Switzerland. During the time of war and religious conflicts,
Duerers home were in different cities Nuremberg, Augsburg, Basel, Munich, and Prague. Duerer
produced art work during the most turbulent time of the Renaissance for people. He had a close
relationship with prestigious patrons such as Maxillian and Frederick III of Saxony. He was a
brilliant humanist like Duerer was (Crocker catalog, pp 15). Duerer, was the German
Renaissance masters like Leonardo was in Italy based on an unparalleled knowledge of matters

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philological, mathematical, philosophical matter(Stechow p.198). Both were very much in very
precise and with mathematical formula in their drawings or art work.
In the Crocker Art Museum are 11 drawings on display and I like to list them and give a
short description:
Nessus and Deianira, Pen and Ink, 1494-95
- the inspiration he got from Italian artists
- was interested in the dynamic of the human body
Adam and Eve, Pen and brown Ink, 1500
- interested in human body
- he inspirited later artist
Standing Apostle, Metal point with touches of white chalk on green prepared
paper, 1471-1528
- it was a preparation for a series of engravings for the Large
Crucification
Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony, Silverpoint and black chalk on pink
prepared paper, 1471-1528
- portraits are an important presence in Duerers work
The Mens Bath House, Woodcut, 1496
-one of the first full page woodcuts after his return from Italy
The Peasant and his Wife, 1494
- he reproduced a composition for Sebastian Brants Ship of Fools
Christ Bearing his Cross, Woodcut, 1497-1498

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The Standard Bearer, Engraving, 1471-1528
- utilize theories on the property of the human body
St. Christopher Traversing the Water, woodcut, 1503-1504
- often portrayed by Duerer made at least five engravings
- is part of a series of woodcuts in uneven quality and made by less skillful
Duerers assistants after Duerers drawings and called it bad wood
St. Christopher facing left, Engraving, 1521
- interpreting of St. Christopher story
- artistic tradition
St. Philip, Engraving, 1471-1528
- is Duerers most monumental figures
Fool with a Bagpipe, Woodcut, 1494
- featuring a series of charter types in foolishness human attitude
Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, Woodcut, 1519
- drew Emperor first and than created a woodcut
- was used by various painted portraits
Nudes, Pen and brown Ink, 1498
- Owned by Crocker Art Museum
- was the first drawing how enter in the United States
Monument to Commemorate a Victory over Rebellious Peasants, Woodcut, 1528
- is the Instructions for measuring with compass and ruler
The Crucifixion, Engraving

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- was a preparatory drawings for this unfinished engraving
- illustrated Duerers religious convictions in favor to Martin Luther
St. Sebaldus carrying a model of a church, Print, 1501

All the drawings I listed above are in different mediums such as drawing in white chalk
on green paper, silverpoint and black chalk drawings on pink prepared paper engravings, and
some are woodcuts. To see Duerers drawing in person it is a very astonishing moment and I am
proud to get the opportunity to see it and write and analyzing his work. The majority of his
drawings in the show at Crocker Art Museum have a religious character or Bible background. I
will do my best in analyzing Duerers work very careful so that is meaningful and useful to
understand for the viewer and to get a idea why Duerer made the drawings in this manner. I will
pick only a few important works from Duerers exhibition to get a critical and analyzing form of
his work. I have seen some of his works such as his self portrait in Munich, Germany and Mona
Lisa in Louvre, Paris, but now I see it in a different view because of my background of Art
History.
Duerer worked under influent of ancient masters in classical genres of mythology an
nudes drawings one example is Nessus and Deianira. Is a torso of a man and like a prisoner in a
horse body. Duerer developed the representation of the human body from his Italian tour.The
male figure is Nessus fighting with Deianira because Deianira like to come free so she pulls on
his hair and push her foot against his torso to get free. It is a very powerful emotional drawings
with very careful excited lines,cross-hatching on his upper body and her back. It makes the scene
very real and can feel the tension between the two.The balance of power between the two figures

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looking at her expression in her face with open mouth, glare eyes, and some sort of pain to gain
freedom, but Nessus has his arms around her so she cant go free. Nessus in comprising to
Deianira see his tense muscles, buttocks and calf are rendered in a web of line with crosshatching(Crocker Art Museum, p38).
In Duerers last years he concentrated more on religious figures, including Christ, Mary,
and various saint one of them is The standing Apostle. Duerer made a half of dozen studies of the
Apostles on green preparation paper and applied with broad brushstrokes worked in metal point
and then in white chalk. He drew the face with big eyes, huge nose, and thick lips on his left
hand a stick in his right we cant see but maybe it was a crucifix like Christian have in their hand
when they go to church. His clothing looks very heavy but with careful drawings strokes and
cross hatches for shadowing. The standing Apostle is probably part of a series of preparatory
drawings for the The Crucifixion.
As a conclusion it was a astonishing exhibition because I did see beside Albrecht
Duerers work a lot of other excellent artist. When I shaw all the drawings from Duerer it
reminds me of the work I saw in Munich, Germany such as his self portrait as a young man. I
went now a couple of time to the Crocker Art Museum to see Duerers work and cant get enough
of it. Every time I go I see different aspects and details of his drawings. For me he was a master
in his field.

Student lesson or strategies in the class room

As art educator of students, it is very important to have a plan how to start an art lesson or
session. First we have to question what is art? How can we response to images and why or why

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not? Give students the opportunity to give their own definition of art? Why or why not response
to have field trip?
Before I would go into details I would talk about drawings and how it is consider art. The
first step would be to explain about our outcome and what I expect as a teacher from my
students. Second, I would talk about my plan for a field trip to see the show. It is much easier for
students to see art work in person so they can have a feeling for it. But before I would show
picture of Duerers drawings in the classroom so they get a understanding for it and then I would
ask question what they think about the drawings. Some question have to be addressed before we
go to the Museum so the student can be prepared to answer them in class.I think it is very
important to start with question how they think about Duerers work. Otherwise, I would first
explain his background. For instance I would tell the student about his life and the different
mediums he chose for his work. To tell the student what the difference of woodblock, prints, and
drawings are and how he was an example for future artist. Before we start the assignment I
would show them what a woodblock is and make a demonstration on it. After their field trip I
would give a demonstration about drawings and the importance of lines and cross hunching
example. The student have than the assignment to draw a figure or take one of their favorite
drawings as sample from the Albrecht Duerer show. I believe it would be a good experience for
student to see an so important exhibition because it is the first time that Albrecht Duerer works is
seen in the United State. For the student it will be maybe the only time they see show like this.

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Bibliography
Barrett, T. (2012). Aesthetics And Criticism of Contemporary Art: Why Is That Art? 2second
ed.New York. Oxford University Press, Inc.
Crocker Art Museum Catalog.(2016) The Age of Albrecht Duerer. German Drawings.
Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Paris.
Parshall, P. (2013). Graphic Knowledge: Albrecht Duerer and the Imagination. Art Bulletin.
vol.95, Issue 3. (pp.1-27)
Stechow, W. (1994). The Art Bulletin. Vol.26, No.3, (pp.197-199). College Art Association