Musea

Scene

The artist is shown from the waist up against a dark, plain background. He looks directly at the viewer with a calm, penetrating stare.

The figure is Albrecht Dürer, who painted himself at age twenty-eight. He wears an elegant, fur-trimmed robe that signals his success.

The frontal pose and symmetrical features echo traditional images of Christ. The date and monogram suggest a link between the artist and sacred time.

Dürer used careful chiaroscuro to model the face and hand, creating a three-dimensional effect against the dark background.

The work is a milestone in Western self-portraiture. It fuses personal likeness with professional self-assertion and spiritual reflection.