Talk:Portrait of the Artist's Mother at the Age of 63

Notes

Death

• Durer upset by mother's death (deeply moved), & "frightened by the fact that she, who had lived what he thought to be a blameless life, had apparently seen a vision of something dreadful at the moment of passing from life to death." Became Durer's "grossen Angsten" (great fear) of 1515. 123

• Durer's "most expressive drawing" is the 1514 charcoal of Barbara during her terminal illness. Wrote on the drawing with the charcoal "On March 19th, this Albrecht Durer's mother, when she was 63 years old." (1514 an oculy Dz ist albrecht durers/ mutter dy was alt 63 yor )Added in May: "And she passed away in the 1514 on the Tuesday before Cross Week (Rogation) two hours before nightfall." (und ist verschiden/Im 1514 yor/ am erchtag vor der crewtzwochen/ um zwei genacht) 122

• He had been working on a number of mother/child drawings in 1514 and was affected by the theme of mother/child. 122

• Paraphrase of long quote from Durer's journal (Gedenkbuch): he brought Barbara to live w/ him after his father's death b/c she became very sick. In April 1513 (also on Cross Week) they had to break down the door to enter her room b/c she was so ill. She was brought downstairs, giving sacraments & basically lived waiting for death for a full year. 121-122

Source

• Hutchinson, Jane Campbell. Albrecht Dürer: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-691-03978-X

Many thanks for these TK, and I read with interest the fabilious 64 page pdf you sent. HE wrote a lot about his mother, and some of the sources have very vivid and moving descriptions of her last days drawn for his account. I want to come back to these articles on the parents; they strike a chord with me as as I'm sure they would with most people. JNW recommended a major source [1], and Im waiting to be able to afford that before I dive back in. For sure this article has a lot of potential, for a son to depict his mother in this way with all the harsh realism and at the same time pathos, well, its really something. Ceoil (talk) 03:41, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes, this strikes a chord with me too. The book's going back to the library tomorrow (fines!), but I can get it again when you come back to these. It's a good biography. Truthkeeper (talk) 03:54, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

I always appreciate the help and effort, but take the book back! I couldnt live with myself if you ended up in jail or something. Frankly with the way things are going it will be february/march or there or there abouts before I can splash out on THE book.[2] I'm certainly still engaged and the above is just lovely to see and looking forward to sinking my teeth into them. The diptych is the main focus, but there are a bunch of other amazing drawings and paintings around it, and they will be carried up in the drag. Ceoil (talk) 04:01, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

I um was going through a stack of books looking for something else and it um fell out of the stack, so yeah it's going back in the morning don't worry. But I wanted to make notes while I had it in the house. Don't worry. Truthkeeper (talk) 04:10, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Phew. The images though, and the way the streach across three decades from early middle age to old age, well they are very neat. They make you think a lot. Ceoil (talk) 04:19, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

I remember that Robert Beverly Hale analyzed the drawing in his book 'Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters'; I don't know that it will add anything substantive here, other than to clarify the function of the masseter, but when I get the chance I'll dig my copy out of its current resting place, a cobweb-filled locker at the college. Unless one of you can locate a copy first. JNW (talk) 04:25, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Well if you could that would be very much appreciated. There is very good potential in this article. Its a jaw dropping image. Ceoil (talk) 04:49, 3 December 2011 (UTC)