The Standard Bearer

1495·Engraving in black on ivory laid paper·Image/sheet: 11.6 × 7.1 cm (4 5/8 × 2 13/16 in.)

<p>Dürer’s iconic standard bearer hoists a flag emblazoned with diagonally crossed branches and double fire steels in the shape of the letter <em>B</em>, for the French region of Burgundy. These symbols suggest he is an infantry soldier fighting Italy or France for Maximilian I, the Burgundian ruler and Holy Roman emperor, later Dürer’s patron. With skintight hose, a fabric codpiece, slashed sleeves, jaunty feathers, and an antagonistically raised eyebrow, he defies any attempt to capture his flag.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1495
Medium: Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Image/sheet: 11.6 × 7.1 cm (4 5/8 × 2 13/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Albrecht Dürer

Artist

Albrecht Dürer

Painting

Albrecht Dürer, sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. He was in contact with the major Italian artists of his time, including Raphael, Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci, and from 1512 was patronized by Emperor Maximilian I.

Nuremberg, Germany

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