Self-portraiture — A Self-statement in the Age of Northern Renaissance
Albrecht Durer, a leading German painter of the Northern Renaissance
We renew our self-consciousness in the ceaseless expressions and modifications of ideas, personality, and ambitions. Having no difference to the common people, artists engage in self-statement. In this story, let’s recall how Albrecht Durer, a leading German painter of the Northern Renaissance, expressed his artistic ambition via a series of self-portraits.
Albrecht Durer’s self-portraits of 1500 are collected in Munich’s Alte Pinakothek Museum. The light source from the left side of the painting tenderly illuminates the figure. Under the light, Durer’s neatly braided locks appear sculpture-like. His umber eyes gaze at the viewers, delivering a graceful solemnity in silence. With delicate brush strokes, the artist depicted the silky texture of the fur collar in the smallest detail. The right sleeve of the attire is cut off diagonally, exposing a part of the under-linen. This dressing style was popular among aristocrats at that time.
Unlike Durer’s self-portrait in 1498 (scroll down to see the painting) which context can be identified from the landscape at back, the 1500 piece likeness (i.e., figural representation) leaves us no opportunity to speculate where the figure sits. The plain black background veils any shadow casted by the figure and hides any all the information relevant to the figure in the void. The man gains an unearthly quality from its independence from the background. The golden inscriptions at sides float in the air, enhancing the sense of separation between the figure and the background.
Through layers of artistic designs, Durer linked himself with Christ [1] in the 1500 likeness[2] . In the time of Renaissance, the majority of the figures in secular paintings were drawn from a three-quarter view.[3] The front view was saved only for the portrait of Christ.. Durer’s use of a front view explicitly links the artist himself with the holy figure. In addition, the posture of Durer’s right hand recalls that of Ggod’s blessing in the Byzantine period[4] . The acronym of the artist, A.D., is coincidentally the same as Anno Domini (“in the year of our Lord” in Latin). This coincidence added another layer of religious connotation to the portrait.
There are concerns arose regarding Durer’s intention behind imitating Christ[1] , though it’s more likely that, rather than being blasphemous, . While one thing could be affirmed is that the work is not permeated with a blasphemous idea. First of all, the likeness is a vessel to convey the artist’s ambition. Durer created this self-portrait at 28 years old, the age of maturity based on the theory of Isidore of Seville (a 28-year-old has his physical strength, morality and wisdom at pinnacle).
The year of 1500 is also the fifth year after Durer coming back from his first time of studying abroad in Italy . At that time, traveling to Italy was a privilege of the wealthy German merchants, and only a handful of German artists had the chance to experience the grandeur of the Italian Renaissance). The unprecedented chance to study abroad nurtured the man at the age of maturity with ideas of Italian Humanism, and eventually compelled him to pursue the goal of uplifting artists’ social statues. He wanted Germans to perceive artists as intercessors who visualized morality and culture, rather than a group of crass craftsmen who reproduced objects repeatedly. Therefore, through making analogies with JesusChrist, Durer demonstrated his desire of elevating German artists’ social status.
Durer likened himself to Jesus imitated the appearance of Christ for another reason. Various versions of the Holy Face were widely circulated, so the German people were familiar with the face of Christ . When they saw Durer’s likeness in 1500, they would connect it with Jesus Christ intuitively. The faithful mass would attribute the virtuoso of the artist to the benevolent Christ, therefore they would be willing to pay homage to the artist. Durer’s invention is similar to the testimony of Constantine the Great who ascribed his absolute ruling power to a permission from Christ.
If the purpose of self-portrait is to present the true self, then the 1500 likeness does not belong to this category. Durer wrapped himself into various images in order to achieve certain goals in different circumstances. For example, the Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle by Durer was intended to be presented to the artist’s fiancée at betrothal. The artist borrowed the metaphorical meaning of thistle which signifies men’s martial loyalty to win over his fiancée’s trust.
Therefore, characteristics shown by a portrayed figure are not necessarily the person’s personality in real life. The devised temperaments are in accordance with what the artist expects his audience to believe in.
Another Durer’s self- portrait painted in 1498 delivers the same message as the 1500 one, but their expressive styles are in opposite veins. In the 1498 portrait, under the influence of Italian fashion, Durer wears a golden embroidered loose linen. A rope ties the neckline of the cloak. His luxuriant and romantic attire echoes with his confident (even a bit arrogant) facial expression. The landscape, which depicted snow-crowned mountains and a tranquil lake, originated from his memory in Italy. Through facial expression, apparel, and landscape, Durer declared his ambition to climb up social hierarchy.
After tracing the path of Durer’s self-presentation from the more outspoken one in 1498 to the more self-restrained one in 1500, we realize that turning our voice to the maximum volume might not be the best way of expressing. The earlier portrait lacked modesty, an essential feature of self-portrait. It is closer to an imperious demand for reputation from the society . Years of growth make the modesty demonstrated in the 1500 likeness possible. The unassertive analogy of the latter likeness merits a much stronger persuasiveness than the earlier one among the pious Germans.
In my opinion, the ideal mode of self-statement is a decorum after thorough consideration. Only in this way, our voice will not be contaminated by noises, nor will it be washed away by the passage of time.
References
Bieler, Stacey. Albrecht Durer. Wipf And Stock Publishers, 2017.
Parshall, Peter, and Joseph Leo Koerner. “The Moment Of Self-Portraiture In German Renaissance Art”. The Art Bulletin, vol 76, no. 3, 1994, p. 537. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3046044.
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(All pictures are borrowed from Wikipedia.)
