The ''Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony'' is a
tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
on canvas painting by German Renaissance artist
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
, executed in 1496. It is housed in the
Gemäldegalerie of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, Germany.
History
The painting was one of the first commissions received from
Frederick III, Elector of Saxony
Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther.
Frede ...
, together with the ''
Seven Sorrows Polyptych'' and the central panel of the ''
Dresden Altarpiece''. Dürer knew the elector during the latter's short stay in Nuremberg in April 1496.
The German artist portrayed the Elector again in a
burin etching in 1524.
Description
Dürer portrayed Frederick's bust from three-quarters, looking right, above a dark green background. Elements such as the parapet on which his arms lie, or the hands holding a roll, were typical of
Flemish art
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...
of the period.
Frederick's impervious personality, as well as his status, are emphasized by the large beret and by his determined glance
References
{{Authority control
Frederick III
1496 paintings
Paintings in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin