The ''Great Piece of Turf'' (german: Das große Rasenstück) is a watercolor painting by Albrecht Dürer created at his Nuremberg workshop in 1503. It is a study of a seemingly unordered group of wild plants, including

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

and greater plantain. The work is considered one of the masterpieces of Dürer's realistic nature studies.

Background

In 1495 Dürer returned from his ''

Wanderjahre In a certain tradition, the journeyman years () are a time of travel for several years after completing apprenticeship as a craftsman. The tradition dates back to medieval times and is still alive in France, Scandinavia and the German-speaking c ...

'' in Italy and settled in Nuremberg, where he opened a workshop. He was only twenty-four years old at the time, but the workshop soon gained a great reputation for the high quality of his work. In 1500 he produced what is perhaps his most famous work, his Christ-like ''

Self-Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

''. At the same time he was also creating smaller-scale works that were more focused on the study of nature, such as the ''Great Piece of Turf'', which he painted in 1503, and the ''

Young Hare ''Young Hare'' (german: Feldhase) is a 1502 watercolor painting, watercolour and gouache, bodycolour painting by German artist Albrecht Dürer. Painted in 1502 in his workshop, it is acknowledged as a masterpiece of observational art alongside ...

'' from the year before.

Description

The watercolour shows a large piece of turf and little else. The various plants can be identified as

cock's-foot ''Dactylis'' is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the bluegrass subfamily within the grass family. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an invasive species. They are known in English ...

, creeping bent, smooth meadow-grass, daisy,

germander speedwell ''Veronica chamaedrys'', the germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell, or cat's eyes, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. Description ''Veronica chamaedrys'' can grow to tall, but is freq ...

, greater plantain,

hound's-tongue ''Cynoglossum'' is a genus of small-flowered plants in the family Boraginaceae (borage family). ''Cynoglossum officinale'', the common hound's-tongue, is a native of Asia, Africa, and Europe. It has been introduced into North America, and it is ...

and

yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...

. The painting shows a great level of realism in its portrayal of natural objects. Some of the roots have been stripped of earth to be displayed clearly to the spectator. The depiction of roots is something that can also be found in other of Dürer's works, such as '' Knight, Death, and the Devil'' (1513). The vegetation comes to an end on the right side of the panel, while on the left it seems to continue on indefinitely. The background is left blank, and on the right can even be seen a clear line where the vegetation ends.

Scholarly assessment

The

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

scholar

Conrad Celtes Conrad Celtes (german: Konrad Celtes; la, Conradus Celtis (Protucius); 1 February 1459 – 4 February 1508) was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia (nowadays part of Bavaria). He led the ...

compared Dürer's work to the literary work of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

philosopher and scientist

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

who also based his work on the observation of nature. Along with the ''Wild Hare'', the ''Great Piece of Turf'' had been called one of the masterpieces of this part of Dürer's work.Hutchinson, p. 69. The composition shows little order and arrangement, the various roots, stems and flowers seem to be in opposition to each other. The apparent chaos, combined with the attentive detail of each individual plant, lends the painting greater realism. Though the composition of vegetation in itself is continuous and seemingly disorganised, the blank background provides a contrast to the chaos, and imposes a sense of order. Though this work has been highly valued by later art historians, a realistic representation of nature was not a goal in itself for Dürer, but simply a tool for better conveying the sacred messages of his greater works. The ''Great Piece of Turf'' was primarily a study that would help him in the development of his art. The results can be seen both in his paintings, and in his highly detailed

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

s, such as ''

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

'' from 1504.Gombrich, pp. 346–9.

References

External links

The painting's page
at the

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

.
Smarthistory: ''The Large Piece of Turf''
commentary by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
''Inside the large piece of turf''
(Vimeo) - a fly-through 3-D computer simulation of the sedges, grasses and reeds in the composition {{Dürer Watercolours by Albrecht Dürer 1503 paintings Landscape paintings Collections of the Albertina, Vienna