Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony
1524
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 19.2 x 12.7 cm (7 9/16 x 5 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.3551
Art Historical Context
Albrecht Dürer's *Frederick the Wise, Elector Saxony* (1524) is a masterful engraving capturing the likeness of one of the Holy Roman Empire's most influential. Frederick III (1463–1525), Elector of Saxony, was a key patron of the arts and a protector of Martin Luther during the Reformation, shielding the reformer from papal threats. This portrait, produced just a year before Frederick's death, reflects Dürer's skill in immortalizing contemporary figures amid turbulent times. As a pinnacle of Northern Renaissance printmaking, the work showcases Dürer's revolutionary engraving technique on lai...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...