Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait

Like other Northern artists, Dürer was a master of oil painting. Self-Portrait of 1500 takes full advantage of its oil medium to create a highly textured surface that glows with the light that seems to emanate from within the artist himself. Acknowledging his own skill with oil colors, Dürer inscribed the painting as follows: “Thus I, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremburg, painted myself with undying colors at the age of 28 years.” The intimation of artistic immortality embodied in the word “undying” is underscored in the way that Dürer self-consciously paints himself as a sort of icon. His frontal pose, bearded face, and intense gaze recall traditional images of Christ. At the very least, he means for us to see in his face evidence of divine inspiration. “Art,” he would write “derives from God; it is God who has created all art; it is not easy to paint artistically. Therefore, those without aptitude should not attempt it, for it is an inspiration from above.” For Dürer, creating art was a sacred act; it made manifest God’s work.^[1]