Born in 1471 in Nuremberg, Germany, Albrecht Dürer began his career immersed in a conventional naturalism found in the Low Countries. Although his artistic inheritance was rooted in Flemish late Gothic painting, he became profoundly influenced by the work of Italian contemporaries, and struggled to blend the Gothic traditions of the North with Italy’s triumphs in mathematical perspective and color. Painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and art theorist, Durer was perhaps the only Northern artist to fully grasp the complex relationship between scientific theory and art in Italy.

Drawing from the formidable collection of Durer graphics at the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany, Albrecht Durer:  Art in Transition is a chronological presentation of the artist’s life and times and the advances he made to improve the popular perception of graphics as a higher art form. The exhibition, which is restricted to only three venues in the United States, includes a fully-illustrated catalog with text by Dr. Mechthild Haas, Graphics Curator, Hessisches Landesmuseum.

Albrecht Dürer: Art in Transition is made possible, in part, by a gift from Robert and Sandra Bowden. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Major support for MOBIA’s exhibitions and programs has been provided by the American Bible Society and by the Ahmanson Charitable Community Trust. Support for educational programs has been provided, in part, by the Robert W. Johnson IV Charitable Trust and by Walter and Darlene Hansen.