Albert Dürer

Albert Dürer (1471-1528) was a great early German painter and engraver, born at Nürnberg. Though he was known as prince of painters, he was was also an important author who wrote, among other works, an epoch-making treatise on proportion in the human figure. He is known for his perfect drawings and colouring. He was also inventor of etching, in which he was matchless. He carved in wood, ivory, stone, and metal. "It could not be better done" was his quiet, confident reply as a sure workman to a carper on one occasion.

He was son of a goldsmith, a good man, who brought him up to his own profession, but he preferred painting, for which he early exhibited a special aptitude. His father bound him apprentice for three years to the chief artist in the place, at the expiry of which he travelled in Germany and other parts. In 1506 he visited Venice, where he met Bellini, and painted several pictures. He proceeded thence to Bologna, and was introduced to Raphael. Soon, his fame as an artist spread widely, and on his return he was appointed court-painter by the Emperor Maximilian, an office he held under Charles V. He was of the Reformed faith, and a friend of Melanchthon as well as an admirer of Luther, on whose incarceration in Wartburg he uttered a long lament.

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Albert Einstein, Albert I, Albert II, Albert III, Albert John Luthuli