Why a great artist stopped painting

Alexander Lee

IN 1511, ALBRECHT DÜRER — the “greatest German artist of all time” — suddenly gave up on painting. Although, over the following decades, he still painted the odd portrait and a few rather fine panels, he never took on another major commission, least of all for an altarpiece. It was a bewildering decision. Even Dürer was probably a little surprised. Although he had trained as an engraver and had already published a number of remarkable woodcuts, he had always believed that painting was the surest route to fame. After cutting his teeth on a few early compositions, he made two trips to Venice to learn from the leading masters. While he was there, he was commissioned to paint the Feast of the Rose Garlands (1506) for the church of San…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2023

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