Albrecht Durer: Painting his Legacy in Himself. Albrecht Durer was born on May 21, 1471, in Nuremberg, Germany. He was the second out of eighteen children. Albrecht did not make paintings because he was paid to make them, although he was some times, he liked to freely paint. Durer was said to be the most admired artist in the history of German art because of his talent, ambition, and sharp wide-ranging intellect. In his lifetime Albrecht made some famous paintings, but not as famous as Da Vinci or Michelangelo. Durer began as an apprentice for his Dad as gold smith and took lessons with Michael Wolgemut. At the age of thirteen, he made his first self-portrait. "In his apprenticeship under Wolgemut, Durer learned the art of woodcut, which at the time was used primarily for illustrated books" ("ABOUT THE ARTIST"). This meant that he could carve an image on a piece of wood and then he could duplicate his paintings, for instance, his painting the "Rhinoceros" was first a sketch and he made a woodcut. He would spread the ink on the wood then press the wood tablet on a piece of paper. He was so talented that, "His woodcuts inspired the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I to use the medium for colossal commemorative projects, in which Dürer played a leading part" ("Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)"). To add to his talent, he made about 930 paintings, many of those where self-portiats of him-self or other people, but he also did something that many other painters did not do. He made portraits of hands, animals and (DELETE) other anomalies of animals or humans. Durer was very versatile when it can to paintings and woodcuts. Durer was an ambitions man always wanting to learn and paint. His ambitious could be seen in every stroke and detail. Whenever he thought of an idea, he drew it. "His watercolors mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his ambitious woodcuts revolutionized the potential of that medium." ("Albrecht Durer - The complete works."). That ambition led him to be the official court artist to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, all of his works where magnificent and influential. His believe of religion also was inflicted in his art, as he drew Saints and popes. Everyone would know that it was his work because he put his trademark on his paintings, for authenticity. He was on terms of friendship or friendly communication with all the masters of the age, and Raphael held himself honored in exchanging drawings with Durer ("Albrecht Durer Biography"). His influence spread through out Europe and as well as his art. Durer led him to travel to different places to find new way to express his art. Durer learned from his Master, Michael Wolgemut, but he also learned some things by him-self. Durer was not satisfied with his intellect level so he took a trip to Italy from 1505 to 1507 inspired Durer to further his study of human proportion, linear perspective, and Humanism, intellectual pursuits that informed his art ("ABOUT THE ARTIST"). This also depicted when he drew Adam and Eve since he was enthusiastic with Human qualities. In Italy he turned his hand to painting, at first producing a series of works by tempera-painting on linen, including portraits and altarpieces, ("Albrecht Durer Biography"). Italy was experiencing the Renaissance during that time period so a lot of art and books were being produced teaching the people and entertaining the people and when Durer went to Italy, he brought back those teaching to Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and all the northern places, and he also brought his German style to Italy. Later on Durer produced two books, one on geometry and perspective and the other on fortification. So not only was he able to paint he was able to write. This goes to so his wide range of intellect. Durer died in 1528 at the age of 57 with more than 930 paintings and two books. Durer is recognized as the most admired artists in the history of German art and even has a statue of him in his home town of Nuremberg. His skill, ambition, and his intelligence has been influential towards the Renaissance. He was even called "the Apelles of black lines"("Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)"). Albrecht Durer never left a blank canvas.

Works Cited
"ABOUT THE ARTIST." The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer. Web. 17 May 2014. .
"Albrecht Dürer." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)." . The British Museum's, n.d. Web. 17 May 2014. .
"Albrecht Durer Biography." Albrecht Durer Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2014. .
"Albrecht Durer - The complete works." Albrecht Durer - The complete works. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2014. .
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2014. .