Small Horse

Undisputed master of the woodcut, Albrecht Dürer is one of the most celebrated Northern Renaissance painters and printmakers. His original engravings and woodcuts contain exquisite detail and elaborate imagery drawing on religious and philosophical ideas. At the age of fifteen, Dürer was apprenticed to the principal painter of the town, Michael Wolgemut, a prolific if undistinguished producer of small works in the late Gothic style. Dürer learned not only painting but also wood carving and elementary copper engraving under Wolgemut. At the end of his apprenticeship in 1490 he spent time travelling (Wanderjahre) with the aim of learning from the masters in his field. In 1492 he arrived in Colmar, where he intended studying under Martin Schöngauer, a leading painter-engraver of his time, however Schöngauer died soon after Dürer’s arrival. This, and his further travels to Basel, Nürnberg and Italy is where he learnt and began to hone his craft.