Ulrich Varnbüler

1522 (published c. 1620)

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

Willem Jansz. Blaeu

Publisher, Dutch, 1571 - 1638

The image shows a detailed portrait of a man in a profile view. He has distinct facial features, with a prominent nose, deep-set eyes, and a jutting chin. He has a beard and hair on his chin and sideburns, partially covered by an elaborate hat. The man wears a garment with padded shoulders and a low neckline, and there are no visible accessories in his hands. The background is dark with woodcut lines, contrasting with the tan tones of his face and clothing. An inscription "ULRICHVS VARNBVLER" and a decorative scroll with Latin text are visible in the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    chiaroscuro woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 43 x 33 cm (16 15/16 x 13 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3687

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 256, State 3a

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1971

  • Dürer in America: His Graphic Work, NGA, 1971, no. 204, repro.

1973

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Prints of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art Rosenwald Collection, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1973, no. 48.

1984

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., February 1984.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.

2007

  • The Baroque Woodcut, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2007 - 2008

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 256.

Inscriptions

In block, at upper right: VLRICHVS VARNBVLER ZC.M. D. XII; in block, on cartouche at right: Albertus Durer Noric[u]s hac imagine Vlrichum cognom[en]to / Varnbuler Ro[mani] Caesarei Regimini[s] / in Imperio, a Secretis, simul[ar]chi / gramateum, vt quem amet / vnice, etiam posteriati [vult]t / cognitum reddere c[olore] que / conatur (Albrecht Durer of Nuremberg wishes to make known to posterity and to preserve by this likeness his singular friend, Ulrich surnamed Varnbüler, Chancellor of the Supreme Court of the Roman Empire at the same time privately a distinguished scholar of language. [translation from Bartrum, Giulia. German Renaissance Print, 1490-1550, p.58. London: British Museum Press, 1995.])

Wikidata ID

Q18339752

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