Noticing xcii - Albrecht Dürer watercolors

One of the things I enjoy about Facebook is the random art, GIFs, videos, bird photos, and other nonpolitical links that friends or groups of mine post, some of which simply enlarge my life. The other day, a friend posted the picture below of Dürer's blue roller wing, and I thought: "Beautiful!" And it made me look into the life's work of Albrecht Dürer again. And once again, be amazed. This artist lived over 500 years ago, and yet his art strikes me as so very modern, his eye so discerning. I love him, and was glad to be reminded of him and his art.

Self-Portrait, 1493

Albrecht Dürer was born in Nuremberg in 1471, the son of a goldsmith. He gained a reputation as a master woodcut artist when he was in his twenties, and later went on to acclaim as an engraver, his preferred medium. But he was also a wonderful watercolorist, and in this medium became one of the earliest European landscape artists. In addition to being a consummate and prolific artist, he was a theorist, writing treatises on geometry and ideal human proportions. He was very interested in the art of Italy, which he visited on two occasions, and was in communication with Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. He died in 1528 at the age of 56.

All of his work is amazing. I especially enjoy his watercolors. Here are a few. (Click on the images to view them large on black.)

Iris, ca. 1503

Buttercups, Red Clover, and Plantain, 1526

Tuft of Cowslips, 1526

Columbine, n.d.

Dead Blue Roller, 1512?

Wing of a Blue Roller, 1512

Hare, 1502

Squirrels, 1512

Stag Beetle, 1505

Head of a Walrus, 1521

Head of a Stag, 1503

Trento, View from the North, 1495

Courtyard of the Former Castle of Innsbruck
with Clouds, 1494

Courtyard of the Former Castle of Innsbruck
without Clouds, 1494

Willow Mill, 1498

Quarry, 1506

The Imperial Crown, 1510

Study of a Rider, 1498