Nude with Glass and Snake

Dürer’s interest in the nude as an art form was a novelty for Northern Europe. He developed his skills and drew inspiration from his own observations of the human body and by studying Italian engravings. One fascinating aspect of the artist’s work is that he did not simply content himself with creating comprehensive model studies, but was driven by his inquisitive mind to seek answers about the innate laws governing every human body. This drawing numbers among the exquisitely meticulous visual reconstructions of the human body, created during the earlier portion of his career in around 1500. Seen against a backlight, it is possible to see a number of compass incisions and construction lines at the face, chest, and knees. The glass and snake are arbitrary additions that are not intended to be understood as attributes, but serve rather to lend a softer, more human touch to figures created by means of dry, cerebral calculations. The green and blue ink applied to the ground, often used by Dürer in conjunction with male proportion studies, merely serves to help the figures stand out more vividly, while making the sober-looking sheet more visually appealing.