Posted: September 14th, 2017

Renaissance Art

During your time in Munich, you visited the Alte Pinakothek. Write an essay that describes the works of the greatest German Renaissance painter, Albrecht Dürer. In particular, describe three of his paintings in Gallery II of the Alte Pinakothek: The Paumgartner Altarpiece, The Four Apostles, and his Self-Portrait. Remember, his works always exhibited a certain seriousness and solemnity. You can write about how he exhibited these characteristics in his works. You can also focus on how he had mastered the techniques that characterized Renaissance art such as his use of perspective and gradual shading that he achieved by applying layers of blended paint. You can also consider how Dürer’s paintings reflect his Protestant sentiments and the seriousness with which he understood the importance of Christian scriptures as being critical to a person’s salvation. If you want to write about another Renaissance artist or artists, you can also consider the works of Lucas Cranach, who also has two important works in Gallery II and Gallery IIB. Other significant figures of the German Renaissance in Gallery II and Gallery IIB (both on the second floor), and Gallery XII and Gallery XIII (on the first floor) are Albrecht Altdorfer, Matthias Grünewald, and Martin Schongauer.

Sources to consider for this essay:
Davies, Penelope, et al. Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition. 7th edition. Vol. 3. The Renaissance through the Rococo. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007. pp. 632-645.
Getlein, Mark. Gilbert’s Living With Art. 7th edition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005. pp 397-402.
Lindemann, Gottfried. History of German Art: Painting Sculpture Architecture. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1971. pp 75-97.
Piper, David. The Illustrated History of Art. New York: Crescent Books, 1994. pp 150-15