Willibald Pirkheimer, 1470-1530, and Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528
1551 to 1600
Medium
silver
Dimensions
overall (oval): 4.33 × 5.36 cm (1 11/16 × 2 1/8 in.) gross weight: 17.49 gr (0.039 lb.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1957.14.1219
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
This elegant silver sculpture, created by Georg Holdermann between 1551 and 1600, presents oval portraits of two close friends from Nuremberg’s Renaissance golden age: the humanist scholar Willibald Pirkheimer and the celebrated artist Albrecht Dürer. Measuring just over two inches wide, the small yet finely worked piece captures the likenesses of these influential figures side by side, serving as a lasting tribute long after their lifetimes. Dürer, renowned for his masterful prints and paintings, and Pirkheimer, a prominent patron of learning and translator of classical texts, shared a deep ...