Durerself portrait at 28

Albrecht Dürer People of the Renaissance

  • May 21, 1471

    Dürer's Birth

    Albrecht Dürer was born on May twenty-first 1471 in Nuremberg, Germany. He was the second oldest of 18 children, and his parents were Albrecht Dürer the Elder and Barbara Holper.
  • 1486

    Leaving Behind the Goldsmithing Industry

    Leaving Behind the Goldsmithing Industry
    When Dürer was 13, he became an apprentice to his father, who was a goldsmith,and drew his first self portrait. When he was about 15, he left the apprenticeship to paint, which his father didn't like, and became the apprentice of Michael Wolgemut. Dürer did the apprenticeship between 3 and 4 years, and learned how to create woodcuts.
  • 1490

    Beginning to Paint

    In 1490, Dürer painted a picture of his father. Dürer then left Nuremberg in April to travel.
  • 1494

    Returning to Nuremberg

    In May, Dürer went back to Nuremberg, and married Agnes Frey on July 7th.
  • Period: 1494 to 1496

    Becoming a Successful Artist

    Soon after returning to Nuremberg, the plague began to spread, and it motivated Dürer to leave town, and he traveled to Venice. Dürer stayed there until the spring of 1495, before returning to Nuremberg where he began his careers in printmaking and painting. In 1496, he became successful after receiving commissions from Frederick the Wise.
  • Period: 1498 to 1506

    Becoming Famous

    In 1498, Dürer finished the woodcut series The Apocalypse, making him famous all around Europe. In 1505, the plague returned to Europe, and Dürer once again left Nuremberg to travel to Venice, but he was such a well known artist then, that some people tried to copy his work. He even went to court to try to stop Marcantonio Raimondi from copying his work. While in Italy, Dürer was inspired to study things like linear proportion and Humanism. After leaving, he decided to study in Bologna to learn.
  • 1506

    Becoming Famous

    While studying in Bologna, Dürer saw some of the work of Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. Dürer left to visit Rome, returned to Venice, then went back to Nuremberg.
  • 1520

    Traveling to the Netherlands

    In 1520, Dürer traveled to the Netherlands on August 3, 1520, where he was influenced by Lucas van Leyden. Dürer later returned to Nuremberg at the beginning of August the next year.
  • Period: 1522 to 1528

    A Change in Interest

    Toward the end of his life, Dürer began to write more. He wrote The Teaching of Measurements (1525), Various Instructions of the Fortifications of Towns, Castles and Large Villages of 1527, and Four Books on Human Proportion (1528.)
  • Apr 6, 1528

    Dürer's Death

    Albrecht Dürer died on April 6th, 1528, possibly of malaria.
    His writing, Four Books on Human Proportion, was published after he died.
  • 1530

    Some of Albrecht Dürer's art