Squirrels, 1512

Measuring 25 x 30 cm, this piece remains pleasantly small - almost as if you were capturing a personal observation on the wall. The Riana decorative frame, a narrow reddish-brown wooden moulding 17 millimetres wide and 18 millimetres high, frames the print right up to the inner edge without a passe-partout; the warm brown of the moulding complements the animals’ fur tones without overpowering them. The artwork is Albrecht Dürer’s ‘Squirrel’ from 1512: Two animals against a light, almost empty background. The one on the right is holding a nut between its forepaws; its head is bowed, and its bushy tail rises behind its body; the one on the left turns away, its back forming a dark silhouette. Nuts and shells are scattered along the lower edge, with the monogram and date inscribed small above them. Dürer treats this everyday animal not as an afterthought, but as the focus of his attention - ears, whiskers, claws and individual strands of fur receive the same attention as posture and the direction of the gaze.

That is precisely what I like about this drawing: an otherwise unspectacular animal motif is taken entirely seriously here, and as you look at it, you realise just how closely Dürer must have observed it. The Salvador (Matt) canvas enhances this understated character - the matt surface absorbs reflections and complements the delicate appearance of the original well. As the piece is framed without glass, there is no pane to obstruct the view of the fur and the scattered nut shells; you can get really close, and that is precisely when the small format reveals its strength. From a few paces away, the group is immediately recognisable; as you draw nearer, your gaze lingers on the lowered face and the paws. Ultimately, it is not a grand narrative, but an intimate moment: two animals, entirely absorbed in their own world, captured by an artist who observes them with almost loving precision.