Article by Ayyub
Being an artist is a lifelong endeavor. The worst mistake any artist, or anybody in general, can make is thinking that their learning stops once they leave school or once they complete an art course. With art being the ultimate expression of humanity, and that humans are constantly changing and progressing, it makes sense for our art to evolve with us. Stagnating our learning and understanding of the world means stagnating ourselves. This is what artists understood for hundreds of years and that motivated them to create lots of meticulous studies to create the best work they could produce. Albrecht Dürer was no stranger to this, for he produced lots of watercolor studies and drawings that can be regarded as their own special pieces today. In today’s article, we’ll be taking a look at the master’s studies to see the versatile and prolific work that was done over the years.
Regarding Dürer’s watercolors, he usually made wildlife studies of different plants, animals, and insects with his most famous image being a study of a hare. However, my personal favorite one is the study of a tuft and the drawing of an owl. It’s impossible not to appreciate the sheer amount of detail that Dürer puts in his work even if it is just a study to him. This begs the question of how Dürer managed to keep his animal subjects stable and unmoving while working on these studies. Unfortunately, we aren’t sure. Dürer could have drawn the animals from life then took their fur to meticulously study it. He could have also studied these animals in captivity. In whatever way Dürer managed to do it, he made it feel like you were staring at a real photo from the early 16th century thanks to the insane levels of detail and realism. Thankfully with today’s very advanced technology of photography, we can take photos of so many animals and humans in movement to help with our works and gestures. That also goes to show how patient and hardworking the Renaissance painters were; that is something we should all strive to be.
Study of a Piece of Turf
Study of an Owl
Not only do artists make drawing and painting studies to improve their skills, but they also use them to inform their works. One of Albrecht Dürer’s most famous drawings is the study of the hands of an apostle. (also known as “Praying Hands”) He used this study for the Heller Altarpiece he was making with Matthias Grünewald during 1507 to 1509. The drawing became a cultural icon in the Western world to symbolize prayer and was mass-produced for mugs, smartphone covers, posters, and other products. It even appeared on album covers and graves. Albrecht Dürer also created another study for the same altarpiece in 1508 which was a study of the feet of an apostle. While it was as carefully and skillfully talented as the praying hands, it never received the same legacy.
Study of the Hands of an Apostle
Study of the Feet of an Apostle
Another example of Dürer making drawings to inform paintings was his painting titled “St. Jerome in His Study” completed in 1521. This is not to be confused with an engraving Dürer did in 1514 which was similarly titled. You can see how Dürer utilized his preparatory drawing to enhance his painting and give it more realism. It seemed like Dürer focused on capturing the face of St. Jerome to paint his portrait, and he even made a few alterations in the final paintings on the facial expression and the hand gestures.
Saint Jerome in His Study
Study of the Head of an Old Man
Some people think that being a proficient artist means being able to draw from memory and imagination. While that is true and we should all strive for such a skill, that wouldn’t be possible to achieve before studying, drawing, and mimicking from life. Albrecht Dürer is obviously not the first nor last artist to do studies from life, but I believe that he is one of the best examples we can follow from if we want to take our skills to the next level.
