More than five hundred years separate us from the birth of Albrecht Dürer. (He was born on May 21, 1471, in Nuremberg). These five hundred years can be considered many or few, depending on the perspective or the mental disposition of the observer.
If we consider them few, it means that we can understand Dürer and open a fantastic dialogue with him. If we consider them many, then the world in which Dürer lived and the consciousness of that world are so distant from us that any dialogue is impossible.
Dürer was the first painter who had an obsession with his own image. No one before him painted as many self-portraits. Among his earliest works is a silver drawing of himself at the age of thirteen. This drawing clearly indicates that he was a child prodigy - and that he found his appearance impressive and unforgettable.
One of the things that made it impressive was probably the fact that he was aware of his genius. All his self-portraits testify to his pride. The gaze of genius, which he discovers in his own eyes, seems to be a constituent of the masterpiece that he creates each time.
In this respect, his self-portraits are the exact opposite of Rembrandt's self-portraits.
