b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of N??rnberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, N??rnberg
ID de tableau:: 63624
Willibald Pirckheimer 1524 Engraving, 181 x 115 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York The celebrated humanist Willibald Pirckheimer, counselor to the Emperor, friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam, member of the Nuremberg city council, translator of Greek and Latin classics, commander of the Nuremberg contingent of troops in the Swiss War, was Albrecht D?rer's closest friend and mentor. Suffering from severe gout, Pirckheimer had retired from the city council shortly before D?rer engraved this portrait. The copper plate portrait is an example of the new portraits he created using printed graphics. The bust is placed, like a monument, above an inscription that reads like an epitaph. It refers to the contributions and character of Pirckheimer, and the inscription beneath the portrait reads: "Image of Willibald Pirckheimer at age 53. Man lives through his intellect; all else will belong to death. 1524" (based on Livy III, 36). In this likeness, too, D?rer could not resist the temptation to show the reflection of windows in the eyes. The magnificent bulldog head of D?rer's best friend is not so much embellished as transfigured. Mass is converted into energy, and the heavy features of the learned irascible giant appear illumined, as it were, by the enormous eyes which flare from their sockets like powerful searchlights. This engraving was used as a bookplate by Pirckheimer. Many volumes containing it, formerly in the possession of the Royal Society, were sold at auction in London in 1925. Until 1945 there was an impression on white satin, probably posthumous, at Bremen.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: Willibald Pirckheimer Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : portrait b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of N??rnberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, N??rnberg
b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of N??rnberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, N??rnberg
ID de tableau:: 63655
Willibald Pirckheimer 1503 Charcoal drawing, 282 x 208 mm Staatliche Museen, Berlin In the portrait drawing of Willibald Pirckheimer, seen in profile looking to the left, D?rer was making use of a silver point drawing and "refined his friend's features without flattering him," as Panofsky stated. The famous humanist was a close friend and intimate of D?rer's. It is possible that D?rer was stimulated to produce this profile portrait by ancient imperial coins, though it is also possible that the drawing was used as a pattern by a medal maker.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: Willibald Pirckheimer Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : portrait b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of N??rnberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, N??rnberg
