Albrecht Durer's Self Portrait

For this week’s analysis, I will be looking at Albrecht Durer’s Self Portrait, also known as Self-Portrait at Twenty-Eight Wearing a Coat with Fur Collar. German Renaissance artist Durer painted this iconic piece on wood panel early around 1500. It is most well known for resembling Jesus Christ using religious devices such as symmetry, dark tones and the body language of the subject. Durer was the first known artist to accomplish many different styles of self-portraiture. This half-length portrait is frontal and highly symmetrical, with the figures right hand raised to his chest as if praying. His self portrait idealizes Christ, using a symmetrical and frontal view, rather then a pose where the head is at an angle. There was a large influence of Christ and the portrayal of Christ in portraits that went into Durer’s self-portrait.

Although the painting is directed at the viewer, it is also directed inward toward “the self”. The dark and bare background seems to suggest that Durer did not intend for this figure to be in any sort of environment. His use of the brown tones create a somber appearance and compliment the dark background. The use of the lighting in this portrait is also very interesting. The highlights fall unevenly across Durer and influence this portrait with a mellow notion of realism. Durer has also seemed to have mimicked the facial expressions of earlier depictions of Christ, and does it exceptionally well. Albrecht, who had started drawing at a very young age, was viewed as very bold for painting this frontal portrait, which at the time was very rare. He viewed himself as a fairly innovative and well-rounded artist, and perhaps he is suggesting in this portrait that his gift is God-given.

One of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance, Durer was known for working within exact proportions. However it is debated that this piece is not of exact proportions, with art historians saying his hair is uneven. Durer put incredible detail into the hair of this figure, and it is one of the most highlighted aspects of this whole piece. Another stylistic choice Durer has made is the choice of clothing for his figure, a coat with a fur jacket. This is typical of the Northern Renaissance and similar fur jackets can be found depicted in the works of Jan Van Eyck. Durer not only excelled in painting, but also in making wood cuts and engravings. This piece is his third of his painted self-portraits and is considered his most personal. The way the viewer interacts with this frontal image is very effective and at the time was very innovative. When looking at Durer’s previous works, especially his self-portraits, this one is his absolute most successful.