Following Dürer's models

After models by ALBERTO DURERO (Nuremberg, 1471-1528); France, 19th century. "Head of an apostle for Heller's triptych". Etching on paper. With damp stains, soiling and faults on the sides. Printer: Dujardin. Size: 24 x 16 cm (print); 27 x 18 cm (paper). This 19th-century French engraving reproduces a preparatory study for Heller's Triptych, which was made by Dürer, who was responsible for the central panel, together with Grünewald. In this particular case, the piece on which this engraving is based is in the Albertina Museum (Austria). Albrecht Dürer is the most famous artist of the German Renaissance, known for his paintings, drawings, engravings and theoretical writings on art, which had a profound influence on 16th-century artists both in his own country and in the Low Countries, making him one of the principal introducers of the Italian Renaissance in Central Europe. The son of a goldsmith, Dürer was trained in the tradition of the late Gothic and Flemish Primitives. He began his career as an engraver and portrait painter, and in 1494 he made his first trip to Italy. He returned and settled in Nuremberg, where he produced a large number of engravings that increased his fame.