Portrait of Jakob Fugger

The portrait of Jakob Fugger the Rich painted Albrecht Dürer 1518 during the 18th Diet of Augsburg. The painting is now in the National Gallery Old German Masters, the former St. Catherine's Church in Augsburg.

Description

The view of the then nearly sixty years of merchant Jakob Fugger is directed into the distance. The light blue background of the image softens the rigor and sobriety of his gaze. The position of the head refers to strength and self-assurance. The broad forehead and thin lips give the viewer the impression in addition to have a strong personality in front of him, which needs no further decoration as on the chest stitched religious or other medals. The fashionable, simple, gold-colored beret of the cleric gives an indication of the social position of the Painted. The clear complexion of the beardless face painted Albrecht Dürer in 1518 with fine brush strokes against a soft blue background. The blue background came in 1506 painted portrait of a young woman in front of before.

The outer edges of Jakob Fugger dresses and fur intersect and overlap. They create in the form of a triangle, an ascending pyramid, the effect of solidity and rigor of form. The simple, elegant, round golden beret came up to his time as a head covering, Jakob Fugger are very fashionable and dynamic.

This summer, Albrecht Dürer was as an emissary of the city of Nuremberg on the 18th Imperial Diet at Augsburg, where he immortalized Jakob Fugger and still other significant personalities with his painting.

Doubt as to the authenticity

It is undisputed that the image from the workshop Dürer comes. Well-known art historians, including Max Jakob Friedländer, Norbert Wolf and Gisela Goldberg doubt whether the master himself painted the portrait. The frozen and unmoved acting physiognomy of the face and weaknesses in the representation of the fur make you think more of a copy of a lost image from the workshop Dürer. On the other hand, would the execution of the painting as "Little cloth - painting" - a Vormalerei, which was presented to the client for review - explain why the representation of the fur is not yet perfectly executed.