From detailed landscapes to radical representation of religious imagery, explore how travel influenced the art of Renaissance painter, Albrecht Dürer.
Dürer was a celebrated German painter and printmaker, particularly known for his powerful paintings of religious figures and nobles, as well as his intricate wood-cut prints. As an artist he took a great deal of inspiration from other cultures, particularly Italian art and the work of influential artists such as Leonardo and Bellini.
This exhibition focuses on his travels, chronicling his journeys to the Alps and Italy in the mid-1490s, Venice in 1505-07 and to the Low Countries (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) in 1520-21. These journeys completely changed the artist’s outlook and inspired him to take his art in exciting new directions, as well as enhancing his level of fame and influence across Europe.
Over 100 paintings, drawings, engravings, journals and personal correspondence provide an insight into how travel shaped this pioneering Renaissance artist, and includes early studies of human proportion, charcoal portraits and experimental sketches, plus some of his most distinguished paintings.
