Born in 1471 in Nuremberg under the Holy Roman Empire of Germany, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the son of German artist Albrecht Dürer the Elder (1427-1502), also known as Albrecht Ajtósi who was a well-known goldsmith during the 15th century.
From an early age, Dürer showed promise in both goldsmithing and drawing, but later went on to pursue drawing over a career as a goldsmith and began his training under the guidance of Wolgemut by age 15.
Upon completion of his training, Dürer took a few gap years, referred to in German as wanderjahre, and is defined as the period during which an apprentice would gather skills learned from other artists of the trade.
After his turbulent and almost cold-hearted departure from his wife in Nuremberg, Dürer made his way to the Alps where he dove into an exploration of watercolor.
By 1512, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I became a patron to Dürer and commissioned Triumphal Arch, which is a large woodcut print created from 192 different woodcut blocks and inspired by Horapollo’s treatise, Hieroglyphica (5th century).
Toward the end of Dürer’s life, around 1519, he faced a decline in health as well as poor eyesight and arthritis in his hands, which slightly impaired his abilities yet he continued to travel with his restless spirit.
In the first quarter of the 16th century, Dürer began publishing a series of treatises that explored the topics of measurement, divine proportion, and mathematical subjects that he felt were essential to the development of all artists.