Self Portrait at the Age of Twenty-Eight

Dürer's self-portrait at the age of twenty-eight may date to the title of the most famous self-portrait of art history. Often the picture is called self portrait in fur skirt. In today's digital age, where selfies have become a matter of course, the act of portraying oneself is no longer a revolutionary one. The fascinating story behind this extraordinary portrait, however, makes the work, in addition to its craftsmanship, an important milestone in the history of the picture. What distinguishes this self-representation above all from others is Albrecht's daring to paint himself, the artist and man, looking straight into the eyes of the viewer and head-on. Around the year 1500, at a time when the painters were mainly professional craftsmen, he created the myth of the creative artist with this oil portrait. At that time indecent and daring. The young painter confidently signed his work with the Latin words: "That's how I created, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, myself with characteristic color at the age of 28." The outstanding thing about Dürer's self-portrayal is the similarity with Christ's representations of that time and the thus equating Position of the painter with God's son.

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Self Portrait at the Age of Twenty-Eight by Albrecht Dürer
ringlet · fur collar · male · painter · self-portrait · twenty-eight years · twenty-eight · frontal · Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany / bridgemanimages.com