Albrecht Dürer’s Image in the Art Works and Theory of the Nazarene Movement and its Followers

Abstract

The formation of Albrecht Dürer’s cult in German romantic culture is an important problem of modern art history, since the image of the German master, created in the first half of the 19th century, still influences the perception of his work. The article analyses the works of the Nazarene artists and German masters from Munich and Dusseldorf, where the Nazarene traditions were especially strong. Special attention is paid to the design and organization of the so-called Dürer-Feste. In addition, the works of romantic masters have been identified, in which the influence of the style and iconography of Dürer’s works is especially clearly manifested (by P. Cornelius, F. Pforr, E.N. Neureuther, L.E. Grimm). The main subjects associated with the romantic cult of A. Dürer are identified: friendship with Raphael, work for Maximilian I, receiving the coat of arms from the hands of the emperor, and connection with contemporary artists. The peculiarity of the romantic cult of Dürer is special attention to the personality and biography of the master, which manifested itself in the theory and everyday practices of German artists. At the same time, in the art of German Romanticism, references to Dürer’s work are not so frequent. They are found mainly in graphic works, the plots of which are associated with patriotic or historical themes. The article shows that the image of Dürer in the German romantic culture is multifaceted. The Nuremberg master was perceived as a pious Christian artist, an outstanding engraver, a symbol of the chivalric Middle Ages, and at the same time a bright representative of the burghers of Early Modern times. But first of all, the artists of the Romantic era praised Dürer as the embodiment of the national idea and the direct predecessor of modern German painters.

Keywords

• german romanticism
• the nazarene movement
• albrecht dürer
• p. cornelius
• e.n. neureuther