Portrait of the Nuremberg Painter Michael Wolgemut

Duerer painted this very personal portrait to honor the memory of his teacher. Later, in 1519, he added the date of Wolgemut's death to the inscription. The portrait is a masterpiece of precise realism. It documents Duerer's guiding principle that art is based on the exact study of Nature. He meticulously recorded the traces of aging, from the reddened eyelids to the loose skin. The contrast between declining physical strength and determined intellectual vigor makes this portrait one of Duerer's most impressive works.