Albrecht Dürer Coloring Book

German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) is held up as perhaps the most significant artist of his time, particularly for his printmaking. The son of a Nuremberg goldsmith, Dürer was introduced early to the tools in his father’s trade, as he was expected, naturally, to also become a goldsmith. When he was finally allowed to train as an artist, Dürer entered an apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut, whose workshop created woodcuts for Anton Koberger, a local publisher and also Dürer’s godfather. After four years, and with this strong artistic foundation, Dürer left Wolgemut’s studio and traveled throughout Europe, encountering artists whose influence would have a lasting impression on his work.

By age thirty, Dürer had already begun many of the works reprinted in this coloring book. Over the next few decades, he created woodcuts and engravings that revolutionized printmaking as a form of fine art. His technical brilliance grew, resulting in works that are considered a trio of masterpieces: Knight, Death, and the Devil; Melencolia I; and Saint Jerome in His Study. Along with these three engravings, we have included numerous independent prints and selections from his series the Apocalypse, the Small Passion, the Large Passion, the Engraved Passion, and the Life of the Virgin. Each is intense and fascinating.

Images

1. The Four Horsemen, 1498, from the Apocalypse
2. The Apocalyptic Woman, 1498, from the Apocalypse
3. Saint John Devouring the Book, 1498, from the Apocalypse
4. Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, 1498, from the Apocalypse
5. The Four Avenging Angels, 1498, from the Apocalypse
6. The Adoration of the Lamb, 1498, from the Apocalypse
7. Saint John before God and the Elders, 1498, from the Apocalypse
8. The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks, 1498, from the Apocalypse
9. The Angel with the Key to the Bottomless Pit, 1498, from the Apocalypse
10. The Babylonian Whore, 1498, from the Apocalypse
11. The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seals, 1498, from the Apocalypse
12. The Seven Trumpets, 1498, from the Apocalypse
13. Nativity, 1509–1511, from the Small Passion
14. Saint Jerome in His Study, 1514
15. Saint Jerome in His Cell, 1511
16. Saint Jerome in a Cave, 1512
17. Saint Jerome Penitent in the Wilderness, c. 1496
18. Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I (detail), 1515
19. Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I (detail), 1515
20. Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I (detail), 1515
21. Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, 1519
22. Triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I (detail), c. 1516–1519
23. Rhinoceros, 1515
24. Melencolia I, 1514
25. The Fall of Man (Adam and Eve), 1504
26. Last Supper, 1510, from the Large Passion
27. Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513
28. Saint George on Horseback, 1508
29. The Prodigal Son amid the Swine, 1496
30. Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1526
31. The Trinity, 1511
32. Engraving by Georg Paul Buchner (German, 1780–?), n.d., after Albrecht Dürer’s painting Self-Portrait in Fur Coat, 1500
33. Joachim and the Angel, c. 1504, from the Life of the Virgin
34. Joachim and Anna Meeting at the Golden Gate, 1504, from the Life of the Virgin
35. The Abduction, 1516
36. The Sea Monster, 1498
37. Pilate Washing His Hands, 1512, from the Engraved Passion
38. Harrowing of Hell (Christ in Limbo), 1510, from the Large Passion
39. Flight into Egypt, c. 1504, from the Life of the Virgin
40. Saint Anthony, 1519
41. The Combat of Virtue and Pleasure in the Presence of Hercules, 1498–1499
42. Samson Rending the Lion, 1497–1498
43. Saint Eustace, c. 1501
44. The Nativity, 1504
45. Nativity, c. 1502–1503, from the Life of the Virgin
46. Holy Family with Three Hares, c. 1497
47. Saint Christopher, 1511
48. Christ Taking Leave from His Mother, c. 1503–1504, from the Life of the Virgin
49. Agony in the Garden, c. 1497, from the Large Passion
50. Sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt, c. 1501–1502, from the Life of the Virgin