Two Seated Lions by Albrecht Durer

Two Seated Lions by Albrecht Durer, 1521, is a silverpoint drawing on toned prepared paper of a pair of lions. The fineness of the silverpoint technique allowed the artist to explore the naturalistic details of the lions’ features, mane and paws. In the Renaissance, before the invention of graphite pencil, artists would often draw with a finely sharpened piece of silver on paper coated with coloured gesso, the results of which would darken and oxidize into a delicate finished drawing. 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.