Durer's Four Apostles
...rong attention to detail in his work, which is quite evident. These early influences were mostly from the Flemish school of thought, as was most German Gothic art of the fifteenth century. Another important influence on Durer’s painting was Italian painter Giovanni Bellini. Although Durer was already an extremely learned artist, he learned a great deal of different ideas on painting from Bellini. Through his study, Durer became the only Northern Renaissance artist who followed the Italian school of thought combining scientific theory with art. It had such an impact on his painting and thinking, he wrote a treatise on proportions in 1528, shortly after he finished The Four Apostles. Germany had established strong trade ties with Italy, which led to the spread of Italian thought, specifically on painting. This absorption of Italian thought is what separated Germany from the Netherlands in art. It is now thought that this change is what caused German art to surpass that of the Netherlands, at least in the opinion of some. Durer was a typical Renaissance thinker who also appeared to have an extremely high opinion of himself. He decided that he had the self-appointed task of creating a model through his art for later artists to use. He was trying to combine an interest in naturalistic detail or Northern art with idealized figures of the Italian art. Through this and his treatise on proportions, titled The Four Books on Human Proportions, Durer greatly influenced artists of his day who looked to his paintings and writing for direction. Most artists of the time preferred to look to visual aids instead of writings to try and modernize their works. This does make sense, being that it is a daunting task to try and describe one type of art through another. (An analogy often used to describe this dilemma is trying to dance about architecture.) The subject matter of Durer’s The Four Apostles is rather interesting. On the left panel, the two Apostles John and Peter are depicted. On the right panel, Paul and Mark are shown. What is interesting about the right panel is that neither of the men shown are actually Apostles. It is said that a more apt title for the work would be The Four Holy Men, thus including the two men on the right. John, furthest on the left, is holding a gospel. Often, John is depicted holding a chalice similar to that used at the Last Supper and now used by Catholic churches for communion. As a sort of subtle Protestant symbol, Durer painted the first few words of a chapter from Martin Luther’s Biblical translation, which was in the vernacular, German. In the upper right hand corner, directly behind Paul’s neck, we see Durer’s monogram and year of completion. Despite his Italian influence, the monogram shows his Germanic loyalties. It was common Italian practice to sign one’s name along with a Latin phrase. However, Durer rarely did this, effectively showing his German heritage and allegiance. The facial expressions on the four men are all quite different and symbolic. The first man, John, appears to be very hopeful and at peace as he looks into his gospel translated into German by Martin Luther. (Due to the limits of time travel only going forward and at a constant rate, this is an impossibility.) He holds the gospel because he was one of the writers. Peter holding the key to Heaven has a slight tinge of wit in his eye. He holds the key to Heaven because he is said to be the gatekeeper who controls all entrance into Heaven. Mark’s eyes are filled with anger as he looks off to the right. He is mostly covered by Paul who appears to be looking directly at the viewer of the painting. He appears to be looking very suspiciously. The entire work is said to symbolize multiple things at once. It shows the wholeness of humanity, the unity necessary to have a church, and the need to exist united without hierarchy. All three of these themes are shown by the combination of men and their vast differences, which are seen even if one does not know who the four are. One does not need to know of their previous activi...