Head of an Old Man by Albrecht Durer Tile

Head of an Old Man by Albrecht Durer, 1521, is a lavish grey ink drawing on toned paper with white heightening. This study appears to be a preparatory work for Durer’s famous oil painting, the portrait of Saint Hieronymus. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was a German painter of the Northern Renaissance whose work as an engraver, printmaker, mathematician and theorist secured his reputation as one of the greatest artists of Europe. His many paintings, portraits, altarpieces, watercolors, and engravings were the first in the Northern Renaissance to use classical motifs from antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. Durer’s unparalleled skill in drawing and engraving as well as mastery of perspective allowed him rapid execution of a range of motifs which elicit universal admiration to this day.