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The World of Artists
7
"Apelles Germaniae"

Willibald Pirckheimer described Dürer as the "Apelles Germaniae" due to the artist's way of interpreting reality. This section of the exhibition brings together some of Dürer's most remarkable depictions of the natural world which he approached almost in the manner of a naturalist and with a brilliant analytical mind. Dürer's interest in animals and plants is reflected in the large number of such drawings that have survived. Together with their realistic depictions of plants and animals, artists such as Dürer, Cranach and above all Altdorfer developed a true "German landscape" which differed from the Italian Renaissance type and was characterised by an intense vision in which the human form almost disappears in the natural setting.
Rhinoceros


Albrecht Dürer
Rhinoceros, 1515
Woodcut. 236 x 300 mm
Vienna, Albertina
An Owl


Albrecht Dürer
An Owl, 1508
Colour wash with white lead highlights, pen and brush. 192 x 140 mm
Vienna, Albertina
Lion


Albrecht Dürer
Lion, 1521
Pen and watercolour. 177 x 288 mm
Vienna, Albertina
A Stork


Alberto Durero
A Stork, 1517
Pen and ink. 275 x 180 mm
Brussels, Musée d´Ixelles
Portrait of Willibald Pirckheimer

Albrecht Dürer
Portrait of Willibald Pirckheimer, 1524
Engraving. 181 x 100 mm
Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum.
Property of the City of Nuremberg