Themes > Arts > Painting > Renaissance Painting > Northern Renaissance > Albrecht Dürer and the Graphic Process

German art of the 15th century was dominated by many local, independent schools. Largely based on the Gothic International Style, German art received important influences from the Netherlands that intensified as the century progressed. The painter-sculptor Hans Multscher displayed a typically German blend of Gothic conventions, naturalistic observation, and a strange fascination with brutal aspects of human behavior. In Basel the painter Konrad Witz created a severe and impressive style indebted to van Eyck; whereas the reputed pupil of Rogier van der Weyden, the painter-engraver Martin Schongauer, emerged, through his graphic work, as an incredibly refined draftsman, eventually to serve as a model for Albrecht Durer. The Renaissance in Germany is dominated by the great genius of Durer, both a painter and engraver. His astonishing and unequaled performances in woodcut and engraving permanently transformed the graphic arts and greatly enhanced their potential. Durer's fascination with the world, his curiosity about the fundamental principles and theories that governed nature, and his desire to express its various beauties in ideal, monumental form, were features shared with Italian artists. It was in fact through his two visits to Italy, and contact there with such figures as Giovanni Bellini, that Durer was stimulated to develop his unique style.

Information provided by: http://www.ibiblio.org