''Portrait of the Artist Holding a

Thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

'' (or '' Eryngium'') is an oil painting on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins o ...

pasted on canvas by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

artist Albrecht Dürer. Painted in 1493, it is the earliest of Dürer's painted self-portraits and has been identified as one of the first self-portraits painted by a Northern artist. It was acquired in 1922 by the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in Paris. Dürer looks out at the viewer with a psychologically complex but rather melancholy and reserved, serious minded, facial expression. During the 15th century, thistles were symbols of male conjugal

fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London fin ...

History

In 1493, Dürer was 22 years old and working in Strasbourg. He had completed his apprenticeship with

Michael Wolgemut Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt ''Wohlgemuth''; 143430 November 1519) was a German painter and printmaker, who ran a workshop in Nuremberg. He is best known as having taught the young Albrecht Dürer. The importance of Wolgemut as an artist res ...

and his tour as a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

, and would marry Agnes Frey on 7 July 1494. The date and the plant in the artist's hand seem to suggest that this is a betrothal portrait (''Brautporträt''). Dürer has in fact depicted himself in the act of offering a flowering spray identified by

botanists This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that auth ...

as '' Eryngium amethystinum'': its

name is "Mannestreue", meaning conjugal fidelity. Resembling the

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

(from which the portrait's title), this

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

liferous plant is used in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, and is regarded as an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocai ...

. It may also have religious significance; the same plant in outline form is inscribed in the gold ground of Dürer's painting ''Christ as the Man of Sorrows'' (1493–94).Wolf (2006), p. 28. Dürer was temperamentally inclined to philosophical doubts. He often analysed his own face in drawn or painted effigies – sometimes idealizing it, sometimes not. The lines written beside the date in this painting reveal the philosophical and Christian intention of the work: ::

''Myj sach die gat''
''Als es oben schtat.''

In other words (and liberally): ''My affairs follow the course allotted to them on high''. Marriage has in part determined his destiny – the Bridegroom puts his future life in the hands of God. In 1805,

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

saw a copy of this portrait in the museum at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and described it as of "inestimable value."H. von Einem, ''Goethe und Dürer – Goethes Kunstphilosophie'', Hamburg: von Schröder (1947). According to

Lawrence Gowing Sir Lawrence Burnett Gowing (21 April 1918 – 5 February 1991) was an English artist, writer, curator and teacher. Initially recognised as a portrait and landscape painter, he quickly rose to prominence as an art educator, writer, and eventuall ...

, who calls this "the most French of all his pictures", the ''Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle'' is singular among Dürer's paintings as "the touch is freer and color more iridescent than in any other picture one remembers".Gowing (1987), p. 164

References

Sources

* Brion, Marcel. ''Dürer''. London: Thames and Hudson, 1960. * Gowing, Lawrence. ''Paintings in the Louvre''. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1987. * Wolf, Norbert. ''Albrecht Dürer''. Prestel, 2010.

External links

Dürer's ''Self-Portrait'' at the Louvre
* ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Dürer
The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. November 14, 2010 – March 13, 2011
(Dead link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle 1493 paintings Paintings in the Louvre by Dutch, Flemish and German artists Artist Self-portraits by Albrecht Dürer

History

References

Sources

Further reading

External links