Albrecht Dürer, the Nuremberg-born artist whose self-portrait at 13 still survives in Vienna and whose prints helped spread Renaissance art across Europe

When the European Renaissance was expanding to northern Europe, a 13-year-old boy from the German city of Nuremberg made a self-portrait while working as an apprentice in his father’s goldsmith shop. And nearly 550 years later, the painting still survives. This is the story of Albrecht Dürer, one of the most gifted artists of the period.

A native of Nuremberg, Dürer was born in 1471 into a family of goldsmiths. The city became an important center for trade and art during his lifetime. Dürer became a painter, draftsman and writer, but his work as a printmaker had a lasting impact on European art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes him as one of the most gifted artists of the Renaissance. In 1486, he left his father's workshop to train as a painter under Michael Wolgemut, according to the Albertina Museum in Vienna.

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The self-portrait he drew at 13

The drawing is now held by the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Austria. The museum says the work is both Dürer’s earliest surviving piece and the earliest known preserved drawing made by a child. Dürer later added a note explaining that he had drawn himself by looking in a mirror. The Albertina also notes that the work still shows the limits of a young artist’s experience.

The drawing was made using the silverpoint technique which made the drawing valuable. This is a particular drawing technique in which an artist uses a silver stylus on a specially prepared surface. According to Jackson’s Art Blog, the surface is coated with a fine layer that allows tiny particles of silver to leave marks as the stylus moves across it.

Unique facts about the technique

• One cannot erase Silverpoint lines as easily as pencil or charcoal marks. Artists had to work carefully.
• Artists had to use a steady hand and careful control to draw fine lines and capture small details, such as facial features.
• Ordinary paper was not enough. It had to be coated with a suitable material so the silver could leave a mark.
• Artists need to built up darker areas with layers of fine lines, rather than quickly filling them in.

How Dürer helped change printmaking

Dürer became known for his woodcuts and engravings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art says Dürer helped raise printmaking to the level of an independent art form. His work added greater detail, dramatic effects and new ways of presenting images.

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In 1495, Dürer set up his own workshop in Nuremberg. He created prints for buyers beyond a single client or court. According to the Albertina Museum, he used unusual subjects and careful technique to attract both religious audiences and educated collectors.

One of his major early projects was The Apocalypse, a series of woodcuts published in 1498. The images drew on the biblical Book of Revelation.

His travels brought Italian Renaissance ideas into his work

Dürer traveled to Italy twice, first in 1494–95 and again from 1505 to 1507. The Metropolitan Museum says these journeys exposed him to Italian Renaissance art, classical ideas and writing about art.

Those influences can be seen in his interest in human proportions, the human body and the use of color and design. In 1506, he painted The Feast of the Rose Garlands for German merchants living in Venice.

Dürer produced several major works that remain widely studied today. They include Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in His Study (1514) and Melencolia I (1514).

Dürer was also a writer and teacher of art theory

He wrote about measurement, geometry, fortification and human proportions. He published the book Underweysung der Messung in 1525, which introduced geometric ideas for artists and students. The Metropolitan Museum says it included the first scientific treatment of perspective by a northern European artist.

He died in the same city on April 6, 1528, at age 56. Dürer also worked for powerful patrons. He received commissions from Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and later from Charles V. His career gave him a place among the leading figures of German art and society.