The Art of Albrecht Durer Trivia Quiz

Answer: It is the first book both designed and published solely by an artist.

Durer is the first artist to design and publish his own book of text and illustrations without aid of an outside publisher. Though woodcuts had existed prior to Durer's lifetime, he is responsible for bringing an unprecedented tactile detail to his woodcuts.

His Apocalypse woodcuts, unlike the coded words of Revelations, are a literal depiction of the Biblical account of the Apocalypse, and were designed with the common people, who could more easily understand such a visualization of the Biblican narrative, in mind. Durer's Apocalypse woodcuts reflect the eschatological concerns of the period-- the widespread fear that the final judgment would occur in 1500.

Answer: His Hand.

Durer's self portraits (his silverpoint drawing at age 13, for example) always prominently display the artist's hand, most likely as an emphasis on the creative powers of the artist. In his writings, Durer expresses the need for a recognition of painting as one of the liberal arts, and for a corresponding rise in the status of the artist.

Answer: Emphasis on microscopic studies of the natural world

After 1500, Durer shows an increased interest in a realistic depiction of the natural world. He creates many close up studies of nature, such as A Piece of Turf, examining the tactile detail of even individual blades of grass. This elevated attention to naturalism impacts his later, more complicated works in the degree of tactile detail he incorporates into these larger compositions.

Answer: wood-cutting

Durer's woodcuts display a mastery of fine lines especially difficult to execute in this type of print technique.

Answer: The writings of Erasmus

The subject of Durer's engraving was probably derived from one of Erasmus' essays, which describes the Christian knight who looks neither left nor right nor behind him as he is plagued by sin, death, and Satan, but only straight ahead towards salvation. Durer thus emphasizes an active road to salvation and the militaristic aspect of Christianity in his work.

Answer: Michael Wolgemut

Durer spent his formative years as an artist in the studio of the printmaker {Wolgemut;} he also travelled to Schongauer's hometown to receive training from this influential printmaker, but Schongauer died before he got there. Hans Baldung Grien was an apprentice of Durer. Bosch, a Netherlandish artist, was far removed from Germany.

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo made many studies of the grotesque, also often juxtaposing them with studies of the youthful and idealized. In his writings, Durer asserts that while any artist can successfully depict a young and beautiful figure, it is much more difficult and takes real artistic talent to create a work of art out of an old and ugly figure.

Answer: The printmaker's lack of dependence on a patron

Prints were often uncommissioned works, made to be reproduced and sold to the general public. Therefore, a printmaker such as Durer was not limited in his choice of subject to the demands of a patron. This factor resulted in a proliferation of often ambiguous subject matter.

Answer: Translating the Bible into Latin

St. Jerome translated the Bible into the vulgate, an act that made him popular during the later Reformation with both Protestants, who placed an emphasis on the importance of scripture as opposed to tradition, as well as Catholics, who valued Latin as the traditional language of the Church and esteemed St. Jerome as the first Cardinal.

Answer: Self Portraiture

Baldung Grien does not reveal the preoccupation his master had with depicting himself in his works. On the other hand, he was extremely interested in issues surrounding the female figure, and reveals misogynistic views in his interest in depictions of Witches (reflecting the rampant Witch hunts of the period), as well as his illustrations of the female nude in association with vanity and ephemeral beauty and the effects of aging and time on the nude female figure.

He further characterizes women in his works as possessing an evil power over men associated with their sexuality, as in his religious works showing Adam and Eve.