Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) enjoyed European-wide fame during his lifetime. Dürer was not only a brilliant painter, but also a pioneering printmaker, experimental draughtsman, book publisher, first German art theoretician and amateur poet. His art was avidly collected, repeatedly copied in diverse media, and often forged. Then, with his death, the posthumous Dürers were born. This book addresses his afterlife or, more correctly, afterlives. Beginning with the heartfelt eulogies of his friends and the creation of contemporary portraits of the Nuremberg master, Dürer’s person, his likenesses, and his art have been celebrated for over five hundred years. Our contemporary Dürer is the subject of intense scholarly discussions on the one hand and of social and commercial popularization on the other hand.
'Albrecht Dürer's work and life are known to almost everyone who is even slightly interested in art history. Picking up from Matthias Mende’s groundbreaking work on the afterlife of this exceptional artist, Jeffrey Chipps Smith demonstrates convincingly – with a wealth of surprising details and connections – how much our image of Dürer today depends on the reception of past centuries. Only in this way do we come closer to the "true" Dürer.' – Thomas Schauerte, Museen der Stadt Aschaffenburg
Smith provides a fantastically compact and compelling discussion of Dürer's many afterlives, unparalleled in scope and completely up to date. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in art history as we approach the 500th anniversary of Dürer's death in 2028, and as new interpretations of the artist and his work resonate with the present. The saga will indeed continue, but Smith's masterful book inspiringly guides us to a greater degree of reflection on how and why the memory of Dürer has been shaped in the way it has, from his own time to the Nazis and his hometown Nuremberg today.
Ulinka Rublack, author of Dürer´s Lost Masterpiece, Professor of History at Cambridge University
Jeffrey Chipps Smith is Professor and Kay Fortson Chair in European Art at the Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas. He is the author of numerous books, the most recent of which is Kunstkammer: Early Modern Art and Curiosity Cabinets in the Holy Roman Empire.