Albrecht Dürer receives Maximilian I. before his house

No Dürer legend was so frequently printed or so frequently illustrated in the last third of teh 19th century as that of Emperor Maximilians I's visit to the house of Dürer. Perlberg constructed his painting like a stage production. The emperor and his retinue enter from the right through the unseen Tiergärtnertor. Before their house, Albrecht and Agnes Dürer, together with their party, await the royal guests.

Like the wing of a stage set, the corner of the "House of Pontius Pilate" with its statue of St. George projects into the scene, its counterpart on the opposite side is a purely fanciful little structure with a tracework balustrade. Viewed from slightly below so as to exaggerate its gothic pitch, the Dürer House dominates the scene. Similar "living pictures" were staged by artists and art lovers in the 19th century.