Great Piece of Turf
Factual Information:
From: Nuremberg, Germany
Period: 1503
Period: 1503
General Information:
This artwork by Albrecht Durer was painted after his return from Italy and his settlement in Nuremberg. Durer focused on the observation of nature for this work, by painting a seemingly random group of plants. This artwork in particular is a part of his study on realistic nature. The painting is in watercolor, and shows nothing but a piece of turf, nothing else, and focuses on the realism and portrayal of simple objects in nature. Albrecht focused to much on making sure that the portrayal was realistic, that botanists today can determine the identity of each plant shown. We can tell from the painting that Albrecht allied himself with the lien of thinking that obervation was key, just like Leonardo did.
Why This Artwork?
This artwork was chosen to show a type of work that was rarely shown before the Northern Renaissance, like these small scale realistic water colors. This shows a major difference from their Italian artists counterparts.