Self-Portrait is the second of the
German Renaissance painter
Albrecht Dürer's three painted self-portraits. He painted himself in half length and slightly turned, under an arch and beside a window that opens onto a landscape with mountains. Created after his first trip to Italy, the work portrays him with an arrogant, cocky expression, which betrays the assured self-confidence of a young artist at the height of his ability. Dürer is dressed with effeminate grace in flamboyant clothes and fine gloves, showing the influence of Italian fashion. On the windowsill is a German inscription that translates as: "I painted this from my own appearance. I was twenty-six years old." The work was painted in oil on panel in 1498, and is now held at the
Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Painting credit: Albrecht Dürer