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Albrecht Durer
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"In Venice, I am treated as a nobleman. . . . Here I really am somebody, whereas at home I am just a hack," lamented Albrecht Durer about Germany's medieval conception of artists. Italian Renaissance ideas first came north in a powerful way through Durer, who trained in Nuremberg as a goldsmith, painter, and woodcutter. After visiting Venice in 1495, Durer intensely studied mathematics, geometry, Latin, and humanist literature. He expressed himself primarily through prints; painting was less profitable, and Lutheran church reformers disdained most religious artworks. Durer's paintings are few and more traditional than his engravings and woodcuts. In 1498 he published the first book entirely produced by an artist, The Apocalypse, fourteen woodcuts illustrating the Book of Revelation. Its vivid imagery, masterly draftsmanship, and complex iconography established his reputation.
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