Albrecht Durer,familiar to us all in his key identifying self portrait of 1500, is presented in his "early years"in the new pocket sized exhibition at the Courtauld. Specifically the pictures and prints are from the years between the end of his apprenticeship and the year he settled back again in Nuremberg. They represent the years when he was a "journeyman" literally travelling around Germany and heading down towards Italy, effectively they are his "exploration years" not only geographically but also artistically as he worked out what kind of artist he would like to be and what themes he would explore again and again.
Highlights of the exhibition include his line drawing of the wise Virgins, which can be compared to the series of wise and foolish virgins carried out by durer' sown master, and a couple of self portraits including one from his teenage years where he conveys not only his struggles with the technique of self portraiture but also highlights his melancholy nature. This should be compared to his melancholia I print which hangs nearby. My personal favourite though is his sketch of his wife Agnes which is simple quick and tender, not overly sentimentalised or idealised but nevertheless full of affection in its spare form.
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