Portrait Diptych of Dürer's Parents
Portrait Diptych of Dürer's Parents is the collective name for two late-15th century portrait panels by the German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer. They show the artist's parents, Barbara Holper and Albrecht Dürer the Elder, when she was around 39 and he was 63 years. The portraits are unflinching records of the physical and emotional effects of ageing. The Dürer family was close, and Dürer may have intended the panels either to display his skill to his parents or as keepsakes while he travelled soon after as a journeyman painter.
Portrait of Barbara Dürer, née Holper, c. 1490. Oil on pine panel, 47 cm x 36 cm. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Albrecht Dürer the Elder with a Rosary, 1490. Oil on softwood panel, 47.5 cm x 39.5 cm. Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait at Twenty-Eight, 1500. Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Detail of Barbara's portrait
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The museum is Germany's largest museum of cultural history. Out of its total holding of some 1.3 million objects, approximately 25,000 are exhibited.
Main entrance
The inscription "EIGENTHUM DER DEUTSCHEN NATION" ("Property of the German Nation") at the main entrance was installed when the museum was founded in 1852, and was commissioned by Hans von und zu Aufseß
Courtyard of the Carthusian cloister at the time of the foundation of the GNM, 1852
Altarpiece, c. 1500,